The Cold Food Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday that has been celebrated for over two thousand years, making it the only festival in Han Chinese tradition to be named after its culinary customs. During the festival, ancient people would refrain from lighting fires in their homes and only eat cold food.
寒食节是中国传统节日，前后绵延两千余年，是汉族传统节日中唯一以饮食习俗来命名的节日。古时的百姓在寒食节期间，每家每户都禁止生火，只能吃冷食。
This custom of not lighting fires stemmed from ancient worship and sacrifice practices associated with fire, which was considered sacred and worthy of ritual worship. It was believed that fire needed to be worshipped. An annual tradition was therefore established of extinguishing household fires and rekindling them a month later, accompanied by ancestor worship ceremonies.
禁火这个风俗源于古代对火的崇拜和祭祀有关，古人认为火是神灵，需要祭祀。因此约定成俗每年需停止家中所祀之火，一个月后重新燃起新火，这一次的改火仪式会举行祭祖活动。
During the period without fires, people usually prepared a variety of foods before the festival that could be easily stored and eaten without heating, such as cold food porridge, cold food noodles, jelly, cold cakes, stir-fried noodles and spring wine. Among the many delicacies, the Steamed Cold Swallow pastry stood out. People made these dumplings ahead of time, using flour to make shapes of swallows, animals, flowers, fruits and other figures, about the size of a thumb. Once steamed and coloured, they were hung on the tops of jujube trees to decorate the interior of homes or given as gifts.
不能生火的时间里，人们通常会在寒食节前就准备好一些方便储存、不必加热就可以吃的食物，例如：寒食粥、寒食面、凉粉、凉糕、炒面、春酒等数十种节日饮食在民间渐渐流传起来。在诸多美食中脱颖而出的糕点当属“蒸寒燕”，人们通常都要提前制作，用面粉捏成大拇指一般大的飞燕、走兽和花卉、瓜果等造型的面点，蒸熟后上色，插在酸枣数的针刺上面，用来装扮室内，也可以作为礼品送人。
By the Tang Dynasty, the Cold Food Festival had evolved to include additional customs such as tomb sweeping, spring outings, cuju (ancient football) and cockfighting. These activities not only added to the festive fun, but also reflected the people's love of life. Over time, the importance of the Cold Food Festival gradually diminished and the custom of prohibiting fires faded, leaving behind a symbolic representation and cultural legacy of traditional practices.
到了唐朝以后，寒食节在后世的发展中逐渐增加了祭扫、踏青、蹴鞠、斗鸡等风俗，这些活动不仅增加了节日的趣味性，也体现了人们对生活的热爱。随着时间的推移，寒食节的地位渐渐地衰微，禁火的风俗也逐渐消失了，到如今已演化成为了传统文化的象征和传承。
