Planting Willow Custom of Qingming Festival 清明节插柳的风俗

据说，清明节插柳的风俗是为了纪念“教民稼穑”的农事祖师神农氏的。有的地方，人们把柳枝插在屋檐下，以预报天气，古谚有“柳条青，雨蒙蒙；柳条干，晴了天”的说法。黄巢起义时规定，以“清明为期，戴柳为号”。起义失败后，戴柳的习俗渐被淘汰，只有插柳盛行不衰。杨柳有强大的生命力，俗话说：“有心栽花花不发，无心插柳柳成荫。”柳条插土就活，插到哪里，活到哪里，年年插柳，处处成荫。
Planting willow branches was practiced among Ancient Chinese to commemorate Shen Nong, the originator of farming who taught people how to do farm work. In some places, people put wickers under eaves to forecast weather. If the wicker is fresh and green, it will rain; dry wicker, sunny days. Huang Chao Uprising ruled that the date of uprising scheduled on Qingming and wearing wicker was a secret signal. When the uprising was defeated, the custom of wearing wicker vanished gradually but willow planting kept prevailing. Willow boasts great vitality. As the proverb goes, painstaking efforts to grow flowers may turn in vain, but unintentionally planted wicker will grow into big tree. This means that willow branches are easy to survive and thrive.
清明插柳还有一种说法：原来中国人以清明、七月半和十月朔为三大鬼节，是百鬼出没讨索之时。人们为防止鬼的侵扰迫害，而插柳戴柳。柳在人们的心目中有辟邪的功用。受佛教的影响，人们认为柳可以却鬼，而称之为“鬼怖木”，观世音以柳枝沾水济度众生。北魏贾思勰《齐民要术》里说：“取柳枝著户上，百鬼不入家。”清明既是鬼节，值此柳条发芽时节，人们自然纷纷插柳戴柳以辟邪了。
Another saying also explains the reason for planting willow branches on Qingming. Originally, China had three ghost festivals fell on Qingming, the 15th day of the 7th lunar month and the first day of 10th lunar month. During these times, ghosts would haunt for something. To prevent ghosts from harassing the living, people planted and wore willow branches. As a mass, willow was able to exorcise evil spirits. Influenced by Buddhism, people thought that willow could repel ghosts so they called it Guibumu (a kind of wood that ghosts afraid of). The Goodness of Mercy saved people from agony and sufferings by dipping willow twig into water. Jia Sixie, from the Northern Wei Dynasty, mentioned in his “important Arts for the People’s Walfare” that suspending willow twigs at your door could keep ghosts away. Qingming was a ghost festival and, at this time of the year, willow began to sprout. Thus, people planted and wore willow twigs to counteract evil forces.
另外一种说法是，此俗是为了纪念介子推。介子推为明志守节而焚身于大柳树下，让晋文公和群臣百姓痛心不已。第二年，晋文公亲率群臣爬上山来祭拜介子推时，发现当年被烧毁的那棵老柳树居然死而复生。晋文公当下便将老柳树赐名为“清明柳”，并且当场折下几枝柳条戴在头上，以示怀念之情。从此以后，群臣百姓纷纷效仿，遂相沿成风。
Another version is that this custom was to commemorate Jie Zitui. Jie was burnt to death under a giant willow tree because he set his mind to preserve his reputation and integrity. Duke Wen of Jin and his subjects were all grieved over his death. The next year, Duke Wen led them to worship Jie and, to his surprise, the willow revived. Duke Wen immediately named the old willow tree as Qingming Willow. He also nipped a wicker and wore on his head to express his remembrance to Jie. Since then, his subjects also followed him and this practice gradually became popular.