关于清明节你可能不知道的6件事儿

It’s holiday season yet again in China! While we are enjoying this three-day holiday (April 5-7 with Tomb Sweeping Day falling on April 5), here are some facts you probably didn’t know about Tomb Sweeping Day.

　　又放假啦！虽然我们在享受着三天假期（4月5日——7日，清明节为4月5日），但是关于清明节，有些事情你可能不知道。

　　1) The Chinese term for Tomb Sweeping Day is Qingming Jie (清明节), which means “clear and bright.” This name originated from Qingming Jieqi (清明节气), one of the 24 solar terms in the Chinese solar calendar. This solar term comes after the Spring Equinox and lasts 15 days, while the weather is getting nice and warm.

　　1）清明节的中文名为“Qingming Jie”，意味着“清晰和明亮”。这个名字起源于清明节气——中国阳历的24个节气之一。该节气在春分后，持续15天，期间天气越来越好，越来越暖。

　　2) During this period, people hang willow branches in memory of an official named Jie Zitui, who rather graphically cut his own flesh to feed a starving prince named Chong’er. After Chong’er became King Jinwen Gong, he remembered that he forgot to reward Jiezi Tui. When he went to Jie Zitui’s house, he found it empty; Jie had gone to Mian Mountain (绵山) to hide with his mother. Jinwen Gong set a fire around the mountain to smoke Jie Zitui out, but the official never appeared. After the fire burned out, Jinwen Gong found Jie and his mother’s corpses near a willow tree. In the tree hole, Jinwen Gong found a letter from Jie urging him to be a good king.

　　2）在这期间，人们悬挂柳枝，纪念一位名为介子推的官员，他割下了自己的肉喂一位名为重耳的王子。重耳成为晋文公后，他想起自己忘记奖赏介子推了。当他来到了介子推家中时，里面空无一人。为了与母亲隐居，介子推去了绵山。晋文公在绵山周边放火，企图用烟把介子推熏出来，但是他并未现身。火被熄灭后，晋文公发现，介子推和他母亲的尸体在一棵柳树旁。在树洞里，晋文公发现了介子推写给他的一封信，信件敦促他成为一位好君主。

　　3) The custom of tomb sweeping varies according to different areas in China. In Hebei (or northern China), tomb sweeping starts a week before actual Tomb Sweeping Day. In the south, people sweep tombs the day before Tomb Sweeping Day; the eve is also known as Cold Food Day. No matter where you are, nobody actually sweeps tombs on Tomb Sweeping Day.

　　3）扫墓的习俗各地不一。在河北（或北方），扫墓开始于清明节前一周。在南方，人们在清明节前一天扫墓。清明节前夕为寒食节。无论你在哪，事实上没有人会在清明节当天扫墓。

　　4) Qingming is also a time to welcome the spring and enjoy the changing of the seasons. Common outdoor activities include hiking, kite flying, and tree planting.

　　4）清明也是迎接春天，享受季节变化的时候。一般的户外活动包括徒步旅行、放风筝和植树。

　　5) Not all Chinese ethnic minorities celebrate Tomb Sweeping Day, but there are 24 that do (thanks to the Hans’ influence) with sweeping tombs and their own customs. For example, the Tujia ethnic group eat pig heads and the Miao minority makes a type of pastry called Qingming Ba (清明耙) with mugwort and sticky rice.

　　5）不是所有的民族都过清明节，但是由于汉族的影响，有24个民族扫墓，他们各有传统。例如，土家族吃猪头，苗族做用艾蒿和糯米制成的清明粑。

　　6) People in the South of China eat qingtuan, a dumpling made out of glutinous rice and barley grass, but people in the North don’t have the same tradition.

　　6）南方人吃青团——一种由糯米和大麦草制成的面团，但是北方人没这传统。