China FDC on "Qingming (Pure Brightness) Festival"

First Day Cover
首日封
Sobrescrito de 1.º Dia

China


Qingming (Pure Brightness) Festival

Date of Issue : 5 April 2010

(The 1.20 Yuan stamps from left to right)
3-1 : Ancestor Worship
3-2 : Spring Outing
3-3 : Planting Willows

Qingming (Pure Brightness) Festival, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day, is a traditional festival featuring folk customs, named after one of the 24 solar terms on traditional Chinese calendar. It was early documented in an astronomical book of the Western Han (206B.C. - A.D.24), and become a popular festival during the Tang (618 - 907) and Song (960 - 1279) dynasties, falling in the third lunar month, or around 5 April of the Gregorian calendar. Traditional customs for the festival, such as sweeping tombs, going out for a walk in the countryside, and planting trees, have remained prevalent till today.

In 2006, the festival was included on China's National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.