Although he was frightened, he did not dare to make a noise, hurried back home and pretended that nothing had happened, and did not dare to go out for a night walk for several days. In the past, he used to drink with his drinking friends before the sun set before he came back, and since that time, he has not even dared to go out on a cloudy day.

But after a few days, nothing happened.

He couldn't think of why the girl he had offended hadn't come to settle accounts with him. She didn't come to him, he missed the girl a little. Every time he passed the original road under the scorching sun during the day, he couldn't help but stop, and secretly looked around when no one was around, hoping to find clues about the girl. This is naturally in vain.

In this way, I spent winter and spring in the days that I was worried about and missed, until the Qingming Festival of the following year.

"Qingming Festival?" I asked. I believe that all Chinese have an understanding of the Qingming Festival. However, everyone's understanding of the Qingming Festival is different. Some understand it as a festival for tomb sweeping, some understand it as a good time to go green, and some understand it as one of the three major ghost festivals alongside July and October New Year.

Since my grandfather is telling this story, I naturally want to associate Qingming with Halloween, and secretly feel that the person who wants to ask my grandfather to collect wild ghosts will encounter something on this day.

When it comes to the Qingming Festival, it is natural to avoid the historical figure Jie Zitui. According to historical records, in the Spring and Autumn Period more than 2,000 years ago, Chong'er, the prince of the Jin Kingdom, fled abroad and lived a hard life, and Jie Zitui, who followed him, did not hesitate to cut off a piece of meat from his leg to satisfy his hunger. Later, Chong'er returned to the Jin Kingdom and became the monarch (that is, the Duke of Wen of Jin, one of the five tyrants of the Spring and Autumn Period), and rewarded all the retinues who followed him in exile, but Jie Zitui refused to accept the reward, and he took his mother to live in seclusion in Mianshan and refused to come out. Jin Wengong had no choice but to set fire to the mountain, he thought, Jie Zi pushed filial piety to his mother, and he would definitely bring his mother out. Who knew that this fire burned the mother and son to death. In order to commemorate Jie Zitui, Jin Wengong ordered that on this day every year, it is forbidden to light fires, and every household can only eat raw and cold food, which is the source of the Cold Food Festival.

The cold food festival is the day before the Qingming Festival, the ancients often continue the activities of the cold food festival to the Qingming Festival, and over time, people will combine the cold food and the Qingming Festival. Now, the Qingming Festival has replaced the Cold Food Festival, and the custom of worshipping Jie Zitui has also become the custom of sweeping the tomb during the Qingming Festival.

This is my understanding of the origin of the Qingming Festival, and it is also the explanation that the school teacher told us.

However, my grandfather told me that this is just a theory of the origin of the Qingming Festival, and there is another theory that is not known to ordinary people. But after listening to what my grandfather said, I felt that the second statement was more reasonable.

Grandpa said that the ancients had the custom of welcoming spring, and the weather at the beginning of the third lunar month is just the time when spring is in full swing, which is suitable for people to carry out various activities, including outings and even "wild cooperation". So the main festival of spring is also at this time. In the early days, there was no custom of sacrificing and sweeping during the Qingming Festival, and the activities of the Qingming Festival were the same as those of other festivals in early March.

Qingming is one of the 24 solar terms, which are calendars based on the solar calendar and are not festivals in themselves. Qingming happens to be at the beginning of March of the lunar calendar, which coincides with the ancient spring festivals Shangsi Festival and Cold Food Festival, and over time Qingming has also become a part of the spring festival.

Today, Shangwei Festival has disappeared from the Chinese festival spectrum, but it used to be one of the most important festivals of the year. In the Han Dynasty, it was previously set as the first day of March, and later it was fixed on the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar. According to records, the Shangsi Festival has become popular in the Spring and Autumn Period. In the Analects, it is said that "those who are in the twilight of spring, the spring clothes are completed, the champions are five or six, the children are six or seven, the bath is like seven Yi, the wind is dancing, and the song returns" is written at that time.

In the earliest days, on the day of the Shangsi Festival, people would go on an outing and bathe by the river. In addition, this day also has the function of "driving away evil spirits", which the ancients called "purifying the bath". In ancient times, the function of festivals was to drive away evil spirits and avoid disasters, such as "climbing on the Double Ninth Festival", the actual reason was to avoid the plague under the mountain, and the same is true for "purifying the side bath".

Shangsi Festival also has the function of courtship and mating, the "Book of Songs" said that "Weishi and women, Yiqi scorn, give it peony" also occurred during this time, such a tradition has been influenced until the Tang and Song dynasties, Du Fu's "Beauty Walk" has "March 3 The weather is new, Chang'an waterside Duoli" sentence. Later, however, as society became more civilized, the theme of Noai was replaced with the theme of asking for children, and the festival later formed the custom of worshipping women by the river to worship the Nuwa Temple.

"Qingming still has the meaning of Yehe?" This is the first time I've heard this statement. But I had to trust my grandfather, who knew a lot more about the ancients than any teacher who taught me a Chinese class.

"Hmm." Grandpa nodded and said, "Just like when Zhu Yeqing is looking for Zhang Jiu, he always chooses evening or rainy days, and when ghosts are looking for people, he also chooses a day." The girl he offended had chosen such a time. ”

"Isn't it just that he misses that girl, that girl also misses him?" I asked.

Grandpa laughed and said, "You are already an adult, so I won't shy away from telling you this." Think about it, if the girl was reluctant, could she let a drunk man assault her? ”

I sighed in my heart, is this called Lang has affection and concubine intentions?

The man said to his grandfather that he went to his mother's grave to sweep the grave and found a small locust tree growing next to the grave. Since he did not bring any excavation tools with him before going to sweep the grave, he took great pains to uproot the small locust tree from the soil. When he was done, it was getting dark.

On the way home, you have to pass by the place where you once met the girl.

Because more than half a year has passed, he is no longer as scared as he used to be, and an inexplicable hope grows like a wild grass when he sees the wind.

He didn't know whether the locust tree growing in front of his mother's grave was a good omen or a bad omen, so he didn't dare to throw away the little locust tree that he had pulled out, so he had to come back with a small locust tree with mud.

When he walked to the place where he left a strange memory here last year, he stood for a while carrying the small locust tree. He looked left and right, as if he was waiting for someone to come on a date; He also seems to be afraid of meeting someone, as long as he sees that person come out, he immediately pulls out his legs and runs.

...