“清明时节雨纷纷，路上行人欲断魂。借问酒家何处有？牧童遥指杏花村。”这首有名的唐诗写的是中国传统节日——清明节。清明最初不是一个节日，而是二十四节气之一，一般在每年的4月5日。从这天开始，雨水多了，天气也暖和起来。

“Upon the Clear-and-Bright Feast of spring, the rain drizzleth down in spray. Pedestrians on countryside ways, in gloom are pining away. When asked ‘Where a tavern fair for rest, is hereabouts to be found’, the shepherd boy the Apricot Bloom Vill, doth point to afar and say.” This well-known Tang poem is a vivid description of the Qingming Festival, a traditional Chinese festival. Qingming was not a festive day at first, but only one of the 24 solar terms, which usually falls on the 5th day of April. From that day on, rainfall becomes more frequent and the weather begins to warm up.

　　清明节也称为寒食节，主要的风俗是扫墓，也就是清扫祖先坟墓，表达对先人的敬意，这个习俗据说已有2500多年的历史了。人们在坟上添些新土，拔去长在上面的杂草，将各种食物酒水摆好，烧上一炷香，然后叩头、行礼、祭拜。现在，为了节约土地资源，中国绝大多数地区已不实行土葬，扫墓也就渐渐地变成了一种怀念故人的仪式。

Another name for the Qingming Festival is Cold Food Day. The major custom for the occasion is the tomb-sweeping ceremony, namely, cleaning or sweeping the tombs of ancestors to pay homage to them. This custom is said to have lasted for 2,500 years. People of a family spread some new earth on their family grave (or graves) and clear away the weeds growing on it (or them). Then they deposit offerings of food and wine in front of the tomb stone or at the altar with a stick of burning incense. Next, the members of the family begin to kowtow or bow and pray. Nowadays, to save land resources, the practice of burial in the ground has not been encouraged in most parts of China. Tomb-sweeping has gradually given way to a ceremony of cherishing the memory of the deceased folks.

　   由于清明时节正是春暖花开的日子，因此，除了怀念故人，民间还一直有“踏青”的习俗。每到这时，人们纷纷来到空气清新的郊外，赏花、放风筝、荡秋千，享受春天的美好时光。

The Qingming Festival takes place at the time of blooming spring. So aside from cherishing the memory of the deceased, people often take the opportunity to have trips to the suburbs to breathe the fresh air, enjoy the scenery of blooming flowers, fly kites and play on swings. It is the time to delight in the splendor of spring.

　   这是中国十大传世名画之一的《清明上河图》，它描绘了北宋京城清明节时的景象。正像这幅12世纪的名画所表现的那样，清明，既有对死者的怀念，也有对生活的热爱，体现了中国人平和的生活态度。

Here is one of the ten famous paintings handed down from ancient times in China called “Riverside Scenes on the Qingming Festival” This painting depicts the scene of the Qingming Festival of the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty. As this 12th-century painting shows, the Qingming Festival is an occasion not only for people to mourn their ancestors, but also for expressing their love of life and their gentle disposition.