介绍： Qingming Festival 2018（上）
清明习俗知多少?
Qingming Festival,also called Tomb Sweeping Day or Pure Brightness in English,usually falls on April 4 or 5.Qingming(清明)is the second of 24 solar terms on the traditional Chinese solar calendar.It is also a time for people to go outside and start enjoying the gre...

介绍： Qingming Festival 2018（上）
清明习俗知多少?
Qingming Festival,also called Tomb Sweeping Day or Pure Brightness in English,usually falls on April 4 or 5.Qingming(清明)is the second of 24 solar terms on the traditional Chinese solar calendar.It is also a time for people to go outside and start enjoying the greenery of spring.
清明节也被称为扫墓节或踏青节，通常在4月4日或5日。清明节是中国传统阳历上24个节气中的第二个。这也是人们走出去开始享受春天绿色时光的时候。
In 2018,the Qingming Festival falls on April 5.The public holiday in China is April 5,2018.Many people have holiday vacation from April 5 to April 7.On May 20,2006,the festival was listed as one of the first national intangible cultural heritage events.
2018年的清明节在4月5日。中国的公众假期也开始于2018年4月5日，许多人在4月5日至4月7日期间放假。2006年5月20日，该节日被列为首批国家级非物质文化遗产活动之一。
How Do Chinese Celebrate the Qingming Festival?
中国人如何庆祝清明节？
There are various activities for Qingming Festival.The most popular ones such as tomb upkeep and repair,spring outings,kite flying,and putting willow branches on gates have been an important part of this festival since the beginning.
清明节有各种活动。最受欢迎的活动包括修缮亲人墓地、春季郊游、放风筝或将柳枝放在大门上等，这些活动从一开始就一直是这个节日的重要组成部分。
Tomb Sweeping—the Most Important Custom of Qingming Festival
扫墓-清明节最重要的风俗习惯
People commemorate and show respect to their ancestors by visiting their graves,offering food,tea or wine,burning incense,burning or offering joss paper(representing money),etc.They sweep the tombs,remove weeds,and add fresh soil to the graves.They might stick willow branches,flowers,or plastic plants on the tomb.
人们通过拜祭祖先的坟墓，并供奉食物、茶酒、烧香，烧纸钱（代表金钱）等等来纪念和悼念自己的祖先。他们扫墓，清除杂草，并向坟墓添加新鲜土壤。他们也可能会在坟墓上插上柳枝、花朵或塑料植物。
They pray before their ancestors’graves and beseech them to bless their families.However,the custom has been greatly simplified today,especially in cities,where many people only put flowers to the dead relatives.
他们在祖先的坟前祈祷，并恳求他们祝福他们的家人。但是这个习俗今天已经大大简化了，特别是在城市里，很多人只是拿着鲜花放到墓地上。
Putting Willow Branches on Gates
把柳枝放在门上
During the Qingming Festival,some people wear soft willow branches and place the branches on gates and front doors.People believe that this custom will ward off wandering evil spirits during Qingming.
在清明节期间，有些人会把柔软的柳枝当做腰带系在身上，或将枝条放在大门和前门上。人们相信这种习俗会在清明期间避开徘徊的恶灵。
That willows are considered magical is mainly a Buddhist influence.Traditional pictures of the Goddess of Mercy Guanyin often show her seated on a rock with a willow branch in a vase of water at her side.The goddess used this mysterious water and branch to scare away demons.
柳树一般被认为是神奇的植物，这主要是受佛教的影响。传统的观音图片上可以看到她坐在岩石旁边，手里拿着一个装着柳枝的水瓶。女神就是使用这个神秘的水和柳枝来吓走恶魔。