QING MING JIE A TRUE STORY

THIS HISTORICAL EVENTS , OF COMMITMENT , LOYALTY AND DEDICATION , IT WIL INSPIRE YOUR HEART, MIND  AND SPIRIT.

Today is the celebration of the Qing Ming Jie  , one of the most important dates in the Chinese culture . Everyone, as a family visit the tombs of the ancestors , clean and make various offers with food ,  and other gifts to the ones who left this life .                                                          

This is what happened , in 655 BC , in the Milan Mountains in ancient China Sill is the date to remember them and more importantly , to be together. Mian Mountain is also called Jieshan ('Jie Mountain') after Jie Zitui (?–636 BC). He protected the prince of the State of Jin, Chong'er, who went into exile due to civil unrest and persecution in 655 BC.

In the face of hunger and cold on the way, when Prince Chong'er was about to starve to death, Jie Zitui cut a piece of flesh off his thigh to cook a meat soup.

Nineteen years later, in 636 BC, Prince Chong'er took power and became a king as Duke Wen of Jin State (697–628 BC). Duke Wen greatly rewarded and honored all of his followers, but he forgot Jie Zitui. Meanwhile, Jie had lived in seclusion with his mother on Mian Mountain. The duke felt ashamed and decided to find Jie.

As it was difficult to find a person in the mountains, a malicious subject who was jealous of Jie suggested setting fire to the mountain to flush him out. After the fire, the duke and his people found the two burned bodies of Jie and his mother on the mountain.

The duke regretted this deeply, and designated the day as ‘Cold Food Festival’. It was the day before Qingming Festival. In order to commemorate Jie, people ate cold food and banned fire on that day. And so, the Qingming cold food tradition lived on with this legend. 

As time passed, the two festivals were gradually combined into one. On the day of the Cold Food Festival, people used no fire and only ate cold food. Now people in some places still have the custom of eating cold food on Qingming Festival.

Most Japanese people celebrate Bon Festival instead, which is usually around August 13th to 16th. It is the second most important festival in Japan following New Year's Day. During Bon Festival, people will go back to their hometowns to pay homage to their ancestors. It's also a good opportunity for family gathering.

Japanese people believe ancestors will come back home during Bon Festival. They put lanterns in front of their houses to guide the spirits home. On the last day of the festival, they put offerings in the nearby rivers to say goodbye to the ancestral spirits.

We hope this story will enlighten your life. It is a rare opportunity and date for us  to cherish the higher principles in life , of generosity , selflessness and. Loyalty.

Celebrate this wonderful Spring date ,  that evokes so much from the human spirit. In so many levels that elevated our connections with the past , present and future.

Warm Wishes

Gaia