We were there just before the sun about to rise. There were some people who are already there much earlier than us, using torch light to locate the grave of their loved ones. I believe everyone are there early to avoid the heat when the sun is at the above. The group from the Buddhist Kelantan Society were already there chanting and offering prayers at the small temple on the hill top.
Qing Ming festival or Qingming Jie in Chinese is also called Grave Sweeping Day. Qing Ming, which also means clear and bright in Chinese falls on Apr.4th, 5th or 6th every year. In 2009 it falls on April 4. And this year it falls on April 5th. According to modern Chinese, there is no fixed rules to attend Grave Sweeping Day as long as it is convenience to all family members. Usually a group agreement among family members will be made so that those from far and near could attend at the same time to clean and sweep the graves of the ancestor and also worshiping and offering of food to the deceased and to burn joss papers. It is a festival to be conduct at any day one week before the actual date. It is a memorial ceremony for their loved ones and time to express one's grief for his lost relatives.
After praying at the Temple to seek permission for Grave Cleaning, we proceed to my mom and dad's grave. First we pray to the Guardian God which is next to every Chinese Grave. Only after permission, we continue with the ceremony. We start off by clearing away weeds and touching up the fading gravestone inscriptions. After the grave are cleaned, than the joss papers are laid on top of the graves.
This year our sons couldn't make it for the festival. As such only my wife and my daughter attended. I believe the young ones should be taught to pray to their ancestors. As such I leave some of the duty and responsibility to my 16 year old daughter to assist in the ceremony.
At the end of the ceremony, the money or joss papers are lightened for the deceased to use in his after life. In addition to this, food laid out in front of the headstone includes steamed whole chicken, hard boiled eggs, sliced pork and sometimes cut roast pork with crunchy skin attached and others according to the offeror's liking or their loved one's favorite. Besides these, 3-sets of chopsticks and 3 Chinese wine cups are arranged above the food to be used by the deceased.The family head usually performs the ceremony, followed by each member of the family. The families often eat the food there at the grave site after the ceremony, as if having a picnic with their deceased relatives and ancestors. Chinese have a strong notion that by doing this, it will bring good luck in the family
Qing Ming ceremony can take a few days for a family to complete because of the distance of one cemetery to another and to some who have too few children but too many deceased relatives. Me for instance attended my mother-in-law's last Friday, and yesterday was for my late mom, dad, sis and aunt. On this coming Friday, we will perform for my grandma's, grand dad's and great grandma's and at the same time attending at my late aunties whose graves are at the same cemetery. This time, there will be a huge gathering as most of the cousins will be there including from overseas.
Even though many Chinese Customs and Traditions has changed, forgotten and left aside by the younger generation, I believe that Qing Ming should be preserved and maintained in order to maintain relationship and harmony among siblings, cousins and other relatives. It is a day of gathering and should be consider as family obligation and a heritage to be kept. To all Chinese, I wish them Happy Qing Ming or Grave Cleaning on this auspicious bright and clear week. And have fun !
38 comments:
Great tradition and the sky looks very beautiful.
SWF~Full Moon
Beautiful photos and thank you for sharing your culture. It is a very lovely tribute and ceremony.
What a lovely ceremony and festival. And that gorgeous dawn - just beautiful!
This is so interesting. One of my favorite things about blogging is that we all share and learn about each other's traditions around the world. What better way could there be to bring peace, harmony and understanding into this world. May you and your loved ones be blessed with peace and good fortune.
Greetings from Australia.
I was in Malaysia recently and witnessed a Chinese funeral.
YOur photos are lovely and look very peaceful. Thank you for telling of Qing Ming. It was very interesting hearing about this and I too hope the younger generations carry on with it.
Cheers.
Melbourne Daily Photo
beautifully capture tradition ... awesome shots..
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Happy Easter
This is such an interesting and educational post about your custom. I like the idea of the entire family gathering together to pay respects to other family members who have passed away. I agree with you that this is one tradition that is worth keeping. I hope your children and grandchildren do.
Great post, thank you for sharing your traditions and culture. Beautiful photos!
Cherished traditions such as these, which honor your deceased relatives, should not die out with today's youth. There are so many beautiful things from other cultures that seem to be falling by the wayside. I wish our young nation would hold on to some of this as I feel it is so important to revere these cultural traditions that honor family.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos and information with us.
This post is very informative,I can see some similarities of the celebration to other religion why it's being done. Thank you for the notes you had given, it's very clear for me as a reader
Grant Train Station At Festival Mall
Beautiful images :)
Marinela
This is a great series of pictures! Nice writing!
Pixellicious Photos
Great post, I have learned much from your post. What a wonderful remembrance. I think that it is very important to remember relatives and think about them often.
Thanks
Very interesting.
Sydney – City and Suburbs
Lovely pictures, especially the sunrise times ones. Happy Qing Ming.
love the second picture
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Thank you for sharing this great post. A lovely ceremony captured beautifully.
nice writing. good photos
I was reading, reading and trying to discover the sense of the yellow papers on the graves...
havea nice day
do u live in China?Iam thinking to visit China in september
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