Tomb-Sweeping Day is 清明节 qīng míng jié

    Tomb-Sweeping Day is coming, it is our Traditional Festival and the most important day of sacrifice.

     

    Tomb-Sweeping Day is a time to remember the dead and the dearly departed. More important, it is a  period to honour and to pay respect to one's deceased ancestors and family members. Because it reinforces the ethic of filial piety,   Tomb-Sweeping Day is a major Chinese Festival.

   

    This Chinese Festival falls in early spring, on the 106th day after the winter solstice. It is an occasion for the whole family to leave the home and to sweep the graves of thire forebears. Chinese being practical people this sweeping of the graves given an extended period, that is , 10 days before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day.

 

    This picture is a famous poetry written by 杜牧 (dù mù).

Here comes the poetry:

清明时节雨纷纷，

qīng míng shí jié yǔ fēn fēn

路上行人欲断魂。

lù shàng xíng rén yù duàn hún 

借问酒家何处有？

jiè wèn jiǔ jiā hé chù yǒu

牧童遥指杏花村。

mù tóng yáo zhǐ xìng huā cūn

 

How do you commemorate the deceased ancestors and family members?

 

 

 

Views: 84

Tags: china, chinese, culture, day, festival, holiday, jié, míng, qīng, sweeping, More…tomb, 清明节

Comment by Brandon on April 5, 2011 at 9:01am

Do people wish each other a 'happy' 清明节 qīng míng jié, like they do with other holidays?  Or is it not that kind of holiday?

 

I saw a news article that said people were looking for paper ipad 2s to burn on the holiday (along with fake paper money).  Do you know why they burn the fake items?

Comment by Zhang Wenzhuo on April 5, 2011 at 1:23pm

Hah..Yeah, 清明节 is much different from other holidaies! We don't wish each other a happy 清明节，because this festival is for us to 怀念(huái niàn) our deceased family, we usually go to the graves with yellow or white chrysanthemums. The day before yesterday, I went to my grand-grandparents' grave with my family.

 

As to the fake paper money, old people think that the deceased would receive the fake money(also they think this kind of money can be used in the other side of the world) if we burn them. So this kind of custom has been handed down from generation to generation.

 

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