我国传统的清明节大约始于周代，已有二千五百多年的历史。清明最开始是一个很重要的节气，清明一到，气温升高，正是春耕春种的大好时节，故有“清明前后，种瓜种豆”。“植树造林，莫过清明”的农谚。后来，由于清明与寒食的日子接近，而寒食是民间禁火扫墓的日子，渐渐的，寒食与清明就合二为一了，而寒食既成为清明的别称，也变成为清明时节的一个习俗，清明之日不动烟火，只吃凉的食品。
关于寒食，有这样一个传说：
相传春秋战国时代，晋献公的妃子骊姬为了让自己的儿子奚齐继位，就设毒计谋害太子申生，申生被逼自杀。申生的弟弟重耳，为了躲避祸害，流亡出走。在流亡期间，重耳受尽了屈辱。原来跟着他一道出奔的臣子，大多陆陆续续地各奔出路去了。只剩下少数几个忠心耿耿的人，一直追随着他。其中一人叫介子推。有一次，重耳饿晕了过去。介子推为了救重耳，从自己腿上割下了一块肉，用火烤熟了就送给重耳吃。十九年后，重耳回国做了君主，就是著名春秋五霸之一晋文公。
晋文公执政后，对那些和他同甘共苦的臣子大加封赏，唯独忘了介子推。有人在晋文公面前为介子推叫屈。晋文公猛然忆起旧事，心中有愧，马上差人去请介子推上朝受赏封官。可是，差人去了几趟，介子推不来。晋文公只好亲去请。可是，当晋文公来到介子推家时，只见大门紧闭。介子推不愿见他，已经背着老母躲进了绵山(今山西介休县东南)。晋文公便让他的御林军上绵山搜索，没有找到。于是，有人出了个主意说，不如放火烧山，三面点火，留下一方，大火起时介子推会自己走出来的。晋文公乃下令举火烧山，孰料大火烧了三天三夜，大火熄灭后，终究不见介子推出来。上山一看，介子推母子俩抱着一棵烧焦的大柳树已经死了。晋文公望着介子推的尸体哭拜一阵，然后安葬遗体，发现介子推脊梁堵着个柳树树洞，洞里好象有什么东西。掏出一看，原来是片衣襟，上面题了一首血诗：
割肉奉君尽丹心，但愿主公常清明。
柳下作鬼终不见，强似伴君作谏臣。
倘若主公心有我，忆我之时常自省。
臣在九泉心无愧，勤政清明复清明。
晋文公将血书藏入袖中。然后把介子推和他的母亲分别安葬在那棵烧焦的大柳树下。为了纪念介子推，晋文公下令把绵山改为“介山”，在山上建立祠堂，并把放火烧山的这一天定为寒食节，晓谕全国，每年这天禁忌烟火，只吃寒食。
走时，他伐了一段烧焦的柳木，到宫中做了双木屐，每天望着它叹道：“悲哉足下。”“足下”是古人下级对上级或同辈之间相互尊敬的称呼，据说就是来源于此。
第二年，晋文公领着群臣，素服徒步登山祭奠，表示哀悼。行至坟前，只见那棵老柳树死树复活，绿枝千条，随风飘舞。晋文公望着复活的老柳树，像看见了介子推一样。他敬重地走到跟前，珍爱地掐了一下枝，编了一个圈儿戴在头上。祭扫后，晋文公把复活的老柳树赐名为“清明柳”，又把这天定为清明节。
以后，晋文公常把血书袖在身边，作为鞭策自己执政的座佑铭。他勤政清明，励精图治，把国家治理得很好。
此后，晋国的百姓得以安居乐业，对有功不居、不图富贵的介子推非常怀念。每逢他死的那天，大家禁止烟火来表示纪念。还用面粉和着枣泥，捏成燕子的模样，用杨柳条串起来，插在门上，召唤他的灵魂，这东西叫“之推燕”(介子推亦作介之推)。此后，寒食、清明成了全国百姓的隆重节日。每逢寒食，人们即不生火做饭，只吃冷食。在北方，老百姓只吃事先做好的冷食如枣饼、麦糕等;在南方，则多为青团和糯米糖藕。每届清明，人们把柳条编成圈儿戴在头上，把柳条枝插在房前屋后，以示怀念。
英文版：
China's traditional Ching Ming Festival began in the Zhou Dynasty, has two thousand five hundred years of history. Ching Ming is the beginning of a very important solar terms, Ching Ming one, the temperature rise, it is spring season, a good season, it is "before and after the Qingming, species of melon beans." "Tree afforestation, than the Qingming" agricultural proverb. Later, because Ching Ming and cold food close to the day, and cold food is the days of civil embezzling grave, gradually, cold food and Ching Ming combined, and cold food has become a fame of Ching Ming, also became a custom of the Qingming season , Qingming day does not fire, eat only cold food.
About cold food, there is such a legend:
According to legend, the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, Jin Xian Gong's concubine Li Ji in order to let his son Xi Qi succession, to set up a poisonous murder Prince Shen Sheng, Shen was forced suicide. Shen's brother re-ear, in order to avoid the scourge, exile ran away. During the exile, the heavy ear suffered humiliation. The original along with him out of the courtiers, mostly in turn continue to go out. Leaving only a few loyal people, has been following him. One of them is called mediator. Once again, heavy ear hungry fainted. Meson push in order to save the ear, cut off a piece of meat from their own legs, cooked with a fire to give heavy ears to eat. Nineteen years later, the heavy head to return to do the monarch, is one of the famous Spring and Autumn five heir.
Jin Wengong after the ruling, and those who joined him through thick and thin, and only forgotten the meson push. Some people in front of Jin Wen Gong pushed for the intercession. Jin Wengong suddenly remembered the old things, the hearts of a shame, immediately sent a man to ask the child to push the feudal officials. However, the difference to a few times, the meson can not push. Jin Wengong had to kiss please. However, when Jin Wen Gong came to the meson push home, I saw the door closed. Meson push do not want to see him, has been carrying his mother hiding in the Mianshan (now Shanxi Jiexiu southeast). Jin Wengong will let his Guilin Jun Mianshan search, did not find. So, some people out of the idea that it is better to set fire to the mountains, three sides of the ignition, leaving one side, the fire from the time to push their own out. Jin Wengong ordered the fire to burn the mountain, weighed the fire for three days and three nights, the fire extinguished, after all, no meson pushed out. Up the mountain to see, meson push mother and son holding a charred Dali willow is dead. Jin Wen Gong looked at the mediator pushed the body crying for a while, and then buried the body, found that the meson pushed beam guarding a willow tree hole, the cave seems to have something. Took out a look, the original is a piece of skirts, above the title of a blood poem:
Flesh to do the heart of the heart, I hope the main public clear.
Liu under the ghosts never see, as strong as the king for Jian Chen.
If the princess has my heart, remember me often introspection.
Chen Quan in a well-deserved, diligent and clear Qingming clear.
Jin Wen Gong hid the blood books into his sleeves. And then put the meson and his mother were buried in the charred under the willow. In order to commemorate the mediator push, Jin Wen Gong ordered Mianshan to "sunny", in the mountains to establish the ancestral hall, and put the fire to the mountain this day as a cold food festival, ignorant of the country, every year this day taboo pyrotechnics, eat cold food.
When he walked, he cut a section of charred willow, to the palace to do a double clogs, looked at it every day sighed: "sadly enough." "Shixia" is the ancients lower level of peer or peer respect between each other, said Is derived from this.
The second year, Jin Wen Gong led the ministers, Sufu climbing mountain worship, expressed condolences. Go to the grave, I saw the old tree willow tree resurrection, green branches, the wind fluttering. Jin Wen Gong looked at the resurrection of the old willow, like to see the same push the meson. He respectfully went to the front, cherish the pinch of the branches, made a circle wearing a child on the head. After the sweep, Jin Wen Gong to the resurrection of the old willow named "Qingming Liu", and this day as Ching Ming Festival.
Later, Jin Wen often blood books sleeves in the side, as a spur of their ruling Zou Ming Ming. He is diligent and clean, good governance, the country is well governed.
Since then, the people of Jin to live and work in peace, not active, not wealthy meson push very much. Every day he died, we ban the fireworks to commemorate. But also with flour and jujube mud, pinched into swallows look, with the willow strung together, inserted in the door, summon his soul, this thing called "push Yan" (meson push also referral). Since then, cold food, Qingming became a national people's grand festival. Every cold food, people do not fire cooking, eat cold food. In the north, the people eat only eat cold food such as jujube, wheat cake, etc .; in the south, then more for the green group and glutinous rice lotus root. Every time Ching Ming, people wicker into a circle of children worn on the head, the wicker inserted in front of the house, to miss.
英文清明节的由来与传说手抄报内容资料
