08 QingMing Festival

Tanah Perkuburan Kaum Cina Kuala Krai Kelantan

Haha…Kawasan Beracun Dilarang Melepaskan Ternakan Di Kawasan Ini

A lot of QingMing stuff

B & A!

Ooi…fast larr, very hot larr…

B & A

B & A

Painting…Finallly, all done liao~

The last of B & A

The QingMing Festival 清明节 meaning Clear and Bright Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival on the 104th day after the winter solstice (or the 15th day from the Spring Equinox), usually occurring around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar (see Chinese calendar). Every leap year, Qing Ming is on April 4. Astronomically, it is also a solar term. In solar terms, the QingMing festival is on the 1st day of the 5th solar term, which is also named QingMing. Its name denotes a time for people to go outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime (踏青 “treading on the greenery”), and also to tend to the graves of departed ones. It is an official public holiday in Taiwan, China as well as in Hong Kong and Macau.

This is celebration to honor our past ancestors. Following folk religion, the Chinese believed that the spirits of deceased ancestors looked after the family. Sacrifices of food and spirit money could keep them happy, and the family would prosper through good harvests and more children.

Traditionally, Chinese visit their family graves to tend to any underbrush that has grown. Weeds are pulled, and dirt swept away, and the family will set out offerings of food and spirit money. Unlike the sacrifices at a family’s home altar, the offerings at the tomb usually consist of dry, bland food. One theory is that since any number of ghosts rome around a grave area, the less appealing food will be consumed by the ancestors, and not be plundered by strangers. While bland food is offered and placed by the ancestors’ tablets on QingMing Festival, some traditional Chinese still regularly provide scrumptious offerings to their ancestors at altar tables in their own homes. The food usually consists of chicken, eggs, or other dishes a deceased ancestor was fond of. After the offerings and prayings, the food is then eaten by the entire family.

Honoring ancestors begins with proper positioning of a gravesite and coffin. Those who can afford the spending would seek advise from experts in feng shui, or geomancy, to determine the quality of land by the surrounding environment.