What are the old customs in Suzhou during Qingming Festival?

Qingming is not only a solar term, but also a folk festival. So how do you celebrate Qingming Festival in Suzhou? The following is the old custom of Qingming Festival in Suzhou carefully recommended by the editor. I hope it can be helpful to you. .

Old customs in Suzhou: green dumplings and cooked lotus roots

In the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Wen of Jin became queen and set fire to the mountain for three days and three nights in order to force the meson to push him out. He and his mother were burned alive. Duke Wen regretted it very much. In order to commemorate Jie Zitui, he stipulated that "fire and cold food" should be banned at this time every year. Fire was not allowed, and only cold food and cold water were allowed to be eaten. But in the exquisite and elegant Suzhou, this custom of eating cold food is also interpreted in a colorful way.

Green dumplings and roasted lotus root are the seasonal foods of Qingming Festival in Suzhou. They are the cultural relics of the ancient cold food custom. Ge Chunyuan, vice president of the Suzhou Traditional Culture Research Association, said that qingtuanzi is a dumpling made by extracting juice from wheat seedling leaves, clarifying it with lime, and mixing it with rice flour. It can be filled with bean paste and other fillings. Qingtuanzi is green in color and fragrant in taste. It is a must-have food for Suzhou people during the Qingming Festival.

In addition, the cooked lotus root cake is glutinous and has a unique flavor. It is also a Qingming Festival food for Suzhou people. According to reports, every time before the Qingming Festival, people pick the old lotus roots from the lotus pond, remove the joints and tips, cut a thin slice from both ends, fill it with glutinous rice, and then cover the slice with toothpicks and nail it tightly. Put the lotus root into the pot, add alkali, cover the surface with some lotus leaves, cover the pot and cook over high heat until the lotus root turns brown and becomes crispy. After cooling, dip it in red sand syrup and eat.

Sacrifice: Newlyweds? Go to the Flower Tomb?

According to legend, in order to commemorate Jie Zitui, Duke Wen of Jin Dynasty would go to worship Jie Zitui every year before the Qingming Festival, which formed the concept of visiting the tomb in Hanshi. customs.

Suzhou people don’t dare to neglect visiting their tombs during the Qingming Festival, especially those whose funeral has lasted for seven years but not yet the anniversary. They want to celebrate the new Qingming Festival. Newlyweds have to visit the grave together, which is called "going to the flower grave". To this day, the custom of sweeping tombs during the Qingming Festival is still popular among the people.

Ge Chunyuan said that in addition to visiting graves and sweeping tombs, every family used to celebrate the Qingming Festival and offer sacrifices to their ancestors. According to Suzhou customs, ancestor worship can be divided into human and ghost festivals. The Qingming Festival, the first half of July and the first day of October (the first day of the lunar month) are "Ghost Festivals", and the Dragon Boat Festival, Winter Solstice and New Year's Eve are "Human Festivals". During the Ghost Festival, wheat products are used for sacrifices, and superstitious activities such as burning paper and making ingots are also popular during the Ghost Festival.

Play: Watching the meeting at Shantang? Staying for a meal?

The meeting to welcome the gods, Suzhou people commonly call it "going out". The most famous thing in Suzhou in the past was the three festivals, that is, the three festivals held every year during the Qingming Festival, the first half of July and the first day of October. Among them, Qingming Festival is the most prosperous.

There are about 30 Tugu statues in one prefecture and three counties in Suzhou City. On the Qingming Day, they will be carried in a guard of honor, passing through Changmen Shantang Street, to the Litan of Huqiu County to be worshiped. On the day of the party, urban and rural residents flocked out to cross the Monk Bridge and Shantang Street area. This was the custom of Shantang viewing party in Suzhou in the past. Suzhou people have always been warm and hospitable. On this day, residents living nearby often kill chickens, ducks, and fish to cook meat for the relatives and friends who come here to watch the party. This is commonly known as "staying for dinner."

In the procession at the meeting, the statue with the highest status was the City God. Not only did he have a Xuanqiao and a warm bridge to accompany him, he also had a divine horse as a backup. In addition to the official ceremonial guards of Bodhisattvas and gods, the procession also includes numerous folk acrobatics and artistic performances. This is the most popular part of the procession for the onlookers.

It is customary in Taiwan that the three days before Tomb-Sweeping Day are the day of the cleansing ceremony to ward off ominous things. In mainland China, Tomb-Sweeping Day is the day of tomb-sweeping. However, all Zhangzhou people in Taiwan inherit the ancestral tradition of sweeping graves on Sunday. This custom is related to Zheng Chenggong's rebellion against the Qing Dynasty and the restoration of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, Zheng Chenggong believed that the word "Qingming" means "Qing at the top and Ming at the bottom". He ordered the abolition of the "Qingming Festival" and designated the third day of March as the tomb-sweeping day. Some people in Taiwan still call this day the "New Qingming Festival". In short, the time for Taiwanese compatriots to sweep their graves is not consistent, but they are all concentrated around the Qingming Festival. Remembering ancestors and expressing grief are the main contents of this festival. As for the unique Qingming customs, they mainly include:

Making Qingming barley: use Qingming green vegetables or mugwort leaves and alkali or lime powder, cook them together, and rinse them After the bitter taste, mash it; add it with rice milk ground from glutinous rice and early rice to make green barley skin (commonly known as "Red Turtle"). The filling is filled with peanuts, mung beans, barley bran, sesame seeds, glutinous rice sweet rice, etc. The rice is made of raw materials, and then wrapped in barley skin. When it is ready, it will be round and about the size of a fist. When pressed into the barley mold, it will become Qingming Barley with various clan names and patterns. The clan names on the impressions are handed down from ancestors. For example, the surnames such as Shen, Yao, Shi, and You are engraved with the word "Wuxing Faxiang"; the surnames such as Xu, Bai, Deng, Han, and Zhai are engraved with the pattern "Nanyang County"; Wang The surname is engraved with "Sanhuai Tang"; the surname Liang is engraved with "Mei Jing Tang"; the surname Ke is engraved with "Jingshan Hall". Most of the popular Qingming barley mold patterns are plum blossoms, chrysanthemums, longevity turtles, Ruyi, carps, etc. In addition to round shapes, barley molds also have hemispherical, oval, etc. shapes. After the tomb-sweeping of these Qingming barley is completed, it is customary to distribute it to the shepherd boys in the villages near the cemetery, hoping that they will not damage the cemetery while grazing, and some are also given to relatives and friends.

Eating pancakes: Taiwan’s items for sweeping tombs and worshiping ancestors, usually made of flour and fillings into pancakes (similar to spring rolls). According to legend: In ancient times, there was a scholar named Cai Moyi who was a disabled person with a limp, blind eyes, crooked mouth, and only one contracted hand. He was talented and well-versed in classics. He won the first prize at the age of 19, and the emperor made an exception and re-employed him. He has a large official position and has to deal with many paperwork cases, often forgetting to eat and sleep.

His wife came up with a clever plan, hanging his contracted hand by a rope around his mouth and giving him rolled pancakes to make it easier for him to eat. Later, Cai Guanren died on Qingming Day, and his descendants used pancakes as a festival to commemorate him. Later, Fujian and Taiwan regions followed suit.

Outing: On the Qingming Festival, when spring returns to the earth, it is a great time for outings. Therefore, people in Taiwan who take advantage of grave-sweeping opportunities to go on outings are called "Treading on the Green".

Egg-eating and cockfighting: According to legend, this custom was introduced to Taiwan from Guangdong. It is called "Qingming Egg". After the eggs are boiled, the juice of Qianxi is used as seasoning, and patterns are drawn on the eggshells. It will turn red in the future, and after peeling, the egg white will have a blue pattern; the other is "carved egg", which is to use a pen to draw patterns on the egg shell, and then take out the egg white and yolk to become a permanent artwork for appreciation. Taiwan's Tomb Sweeping Day also advocates fighting against a large black "military chicken" raised by local people. At that time, everyone gathers around to cheer and cheer loudly.

Shandong custom of swinging

On Qingming Day, Qingdao has the custom of swinging, especially for women in the boudoir, so there is a saying among the people: "A woman's Qingming Festival, a man's youth".

The higher the swing swings, the better the life in the future will be. As a result, the women all put down their reserve and happily played on the swings. In addition, during the swing process, men can easily win the favor of women when they help push and move the swing. Therefore, this process also creates good opportunities for young men and women to interact.

It is understood that swing, also known as "Youqian", is a traditional game in northern my country. During the Tang Dynasty, swinging gradually became a popular form of entertainment among women. ?These are all customs from the past. ?According to Curator Jiang, because people in Qingdao lived in courtyards at that time, the space was relatively large. Before the Qingming Festival, swings would be installed in a relatively spacious place at home or outdoors for the ladies at home to play. But now, this event has been forgotten.

Eating noodles feels like celebrating the New Year

Qingdao has had the custom of making noodles during Qingming Festival since early on. It is said that in order to commemorate Jie Zitui, people also call Mian Yan "Jie Tui Yan".

In the past, women were not only skilled in making noodle dishes, but also could make various kinds of noodle dishes with different expressions. Curator Jiang introduced that there are many types of swallows, including single-headed ones, double-headed ones, flat-winged ones, and split-winged ones. In addition, there is another special thing, that is, the big swallow carries the little swallow on its back.

In the past, people's lives were relatively difficult, and it was difficult to eat white noodles, so eating noodles felt like celebrating the New Year. In addition to eating noodles, Qingdao also has the custom of making single cakes during the Qingming Festival every year. The so-called single pancake is a thin pancake made of flour, topped with some green onions, boiled eggs, etc., rolled up and eaten.

Flying kites is expected to ward off disasters and diseases

It is understood that since ancient times, Qingdao has had the custom of flying kites around the Qingming Festival. ?In this season, young men, women, and children in the village go to the mountains, fields, and relatively open places to fly kites together. ?Old man Wang, who lives near Cangkou Park, is 74 years old. Recalling the customs of Qingming Festival in the past, he first thought of flying kites.

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