| Every year on the 15th day after the Spring Equinox, Chinese people celebrate 清明节 (Qīngmíng jié) “Tomb Sweeping Festival”. Many activities take place during the Qingming Festival, mainly: tomb sweeping, enjoying the nice weather outside, flying kites. Many other traditions have been less and less performed through time, such as wearing a willow branch on the wear and swinging. However, willow branches now decorates the tombs at this period of the year, and are hung at the house’s main door.  The Ceremony Nowadays, the ceremony can be divided in to three main parts: The first part consists of tombs and graves being tended, cleaning and removing any debris from the tombstones. Praying is the second stage of the Qīngmíng ritual. A member of the family lights up incense sticks, which are stuck into the ground. Family members then take turns and offer prayers to their ancestors. During the final part of the ceremony offers are given to the deceased. This can be in the form of food, alcohol, paper goods or so called “ghost money” being burned as a formal offering for the afterlife of the beloved. In return for this it is believed that ancestors will bless their living family members and help them have a prosperous year in the temporal world. At the end of the entire ceremony all the family members gather around the tomb and throw up coloured papers in the air to the heaven for blessing. Tomb Sweeping Sweeping tombs is the most important activity of the festival. Clean up the tombs and pay hommage to the deceased with offerings are two very important aspects of the celebration, to commemorate the past and the ancestors. Weed is plucked out around the tomb and fresh earth is added to take care of the area. The deceased’s favourite dishes and wine are brought to their tombs as offerings, as well as fake money. All of it is burned in hope they have enough money and food in the after-life. Nowadays, because cremation became more common, the Qingming traditions are simpler in big cities. Usually, only flowers are offered to the deceased. No matter the traditions left, prayers are always recited. Family Outings Qingming is not only a day to commemorate ancestors, but also to have fun and go out as a family. In March, temperatures become warmer, the sun is out, very few rainy days – it’s the perfect moment to go out in nature and enjoy some time off. This tradition came during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and stayed until today, and became a very touristic period of the year. Flying Kites Flying kites is a very popular activity during 清明节. We can see many of them in the sky during the day, but also at night ! Small lanterns are attached to the kite, up in the sky at night they look like stars, which is a very nice sight. What’s even more special with flying kites, is that people cut the thread linked to the kite to let them fly freely. It is said to bring luck and cure diseases. |
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