4th April 2025
Chinese
This is the first occasion in the year when Chinese visit their family tombs. After sweeping the tombstones, people offer food, flowers and paper replicas of favourite items dear to the dead, such as a telephone, a car or a house; they then burn incense and paper money and bow before the memorial tablets. In Chinese culture, even though a person has died, he/she may still have need of these. This practice reflects a form of belief and care for their deceased family members, who still survive in some way in the after life.
Families make a special effort to come together and to return to the family graveyard on this occasion. Many people picnic by the grave to ‘join’ the ancestors in the feast. No food is cooked on this day and only cold meals are served. There should always be an even number of dishes put in front of the grave, along with a bowl of rice with an upright incense stick. Then family members start taking turns to bow before the tombs of the ancestors, starting with the most senior members of the family.
The festival is also one of the 24 seasonal division points in China, and falls on April 4-6 each year. In contrast to the solemnity of the tomb sweepers, people also enjoy the hope of Spring, since the Qingming Festival is a time when the sun shines brightly, the trees and grass become green and nature is lively once more. It is the high time for spring ploughing and sowing. Since ancient times, people have followed the custom of Spring outings.
People love to fly extravagant kites during the ‘Festival of Pure Brightness. Many people fly kites not only during the day, but also – and especially – at night. A string of little lanterns tied onto the kite or its tail look like shining stars, and therefore are called ‘god’s lanterns’.
Respect for the dead and also for the elderly has long been a feature of Chinese practice, belief and culture. This annual family meeting at the tombs is a time of solemnity but not sadness, and enshrines a message of hope for a brighter future ahead.