Qingming Festival
qingming festival ching ming festival also known tombsweeping day english sometimes also called chinese memorial day ancestor day clear brightness festival pure brightness festival traditional chinese festival observed ethnic chinese mainland china hong kong macau taiwan malaysia singapore cambodia indonesia philippine thailand vietnam celebration spring fall first day fifth solar term also called qingming traditional chinese lunisolar calendar make th day spring equinox either april given year qingming chinese family visit tomb ancestor clean gravesites make ritual offering ancestor offering would typically include traditional food dish burning joss stick joss paper holiday recognizes traditional reverence one ancestor chinese culture origin qingming festival go back year although observance changed significantly became public holiday mainland china associated consumption qingtuan green dumpling made glutinous rice chinese mugwort barley grass taiwan public holiday past observed april honor death chiang kaishek day chiangs popularity waning convention observed confection called caozaiguo shuchuguo made jersey cudweed consumed similar holiday observed ryukyu island called shīmī local language festival originated cold food hanshi festival said commemorate jie zitui nobleman state jin modern shanxi spring autumn period amid li ji unrest followed master prince chonger bc exile among di tribe around china supposedly even cut flesh thigh provide lord soup bc duke mu qin invaded jin enthroned chonger duke generous rewarding helped time need owing either highmindedness duke neglect however jie long passed finally retired forest around mount mian elderly mother duke went forest bc could find ordered men set fire forest order force jie jie mother killed instead duke ordered thenceforth one light fire date jies death people shanxi subsequently revered jie immortal avoided lighting fire long month depth winter practice injurious child elderly area ruler unsuccessfully attempted ban century compromise finally developed restricted day around qingming solar term midspring present importance holiday credited emperor xuanzong tang wealthy citizen china reportedly holding many extravagant ostentatiously expensive ceremony honor ancestor ad xuanzong sought curb practice declaring respect could formally paid year qingming qingming festival chinese people traditionally visit ancestral tomb sweep tradition legislated emperor built majestic imperial tombstone every dynasty thousand year chinese imperial nobility peasantry merchant alike gathered together remember life departed visit tombstone perform confucian filial piety tombsweeping visit burial ground graveyard modern urban city city columbarium perform groundskeeping maintenance commit pray ancestor uniquely chinese concept afterlife offer remembrance ancestor living blood relative kith kin place people believe sweeping tomb allowed festival believe dead get disturbed sweeping done day young old alike kneel offer prayer tombstone ancestor offer burning joss form incense stick josssticks silverleafed paper joss paper sweep tomb offer food memory ancestor depending religion observer pray higher deity honor ancestor others may pray directly ancestral spirit people live far away cant travel ancestor tomb may make sacrifice distance rite long tradition asia especially among imperial legislated ritual national religion preserved especially peasantry popular farmer today believe continued observance ensure fruitful harvest ahead appeasing spirit world religious symbol ritual purity pomegranate willow branch popular time people wear willow twig head qingming stick willow branch home similarity palm leaf used palm sunday christianity religious ritual furthermore belief willow branch help ward misfortune gathering qingming perform confucian clan family duty tombstone graveyard columbarium participant spend rest day clan family outing start spring plowing historically people would often sing dance qingming time young couple traditionally started courting another popular thing fly kite shape animal character folk tale chinese opera another common practice carry flower instead burning paper incense firecracker traditionally family burn spirit money joss paper paper replica material good car home phone paper servant action usually happens qingming festival chinese culture believed people still need thing afterlife family member take turn kowtow three nine time depending family adherence traditional value tomb ancestor kowtowing ritual front grave performed order patriarchal seniority within family ancestor worship grave site whole family whole clan feast food drink brought worship another ritual related festival cockfight well available within historic cultural context kaifeng millennium city park qingming riverside landscape garden holiday often marked people paying respect considered national legendary hero april fifth movement tiananmen incident major event chinese history occurred qingming premier zhou enlai died thousand honored festival pay respect taiwan qingming festival public holiday three year later upon death chiang kaishek april kuomintang government declared anniversary chiangs death observed alongside festival practice abolished despite festival official status overseas chinese community southeast asian nation singapore malaysia take festival seriously observe tradition faithfully qingming ritual ancestral veneration decorum observed overseas chinese malaysia singapore dated back ming qing dynasty overseas community affected cultural revolution mainland china qingming malaysia elaborate family function clan feast usually organized respective clan association commemorate honor recently deceased relative grave site distant ancestor china home altar clan temple makeshift altar buddhist taoist temple overseas chinese community qingming festival much solemn family event time family obligation see festival time reflection honoring giving thanks forefather overseas chinese normally visit graf recently deceased relative weekend nearest actual date according ancient custom grave site veneration permissible ten day qingming festival visit actual date normally veneration qingming encouraged qingming festival malaysia singapore normally start early morning paying respect distant ancestor china home altar followed visiting graf close relative country follow concept filial piety extent visiting graf ancestor mainland china tang dynasty emperor xuanzong tang promoted largescale tug war game using rope metre ft shorter rope attached people end rope side also team drummer encourage participant honor custom family often go hiking kiting play chinese soccer tugofwar plant tree including willow tree qingming festival also part spiritual religious practice china associated buddhism example buddhism teach die guilt unable eat afterlife except day qingming festival qingming festival holiday significance chinese tea culture since specific day divide fresh green tea picking date green tea made leaf picked date given prestigious preqingming tea 明前茶 designation command much higher price tag tea prized aroma taste tenderness qingming festival originally considered day best spring weather many people would go travel old book tang describes custom mention may found ancient poetry famous song dynasty qingming scroll attributed zhang zeduan may portray kaifeng city capital song dynasty include activity associated holiday however term qingming may refer holiday qingming frequently mentioned chinese literature among famous one probably du mu poem simply titled qingming although qingming festival celebrated vietnam qingming festival mentioned name thanh minh epic poem tale kieu take place ming china reign jiajing protagonist thúy kiều 翠翹 meet ghost dead old lady description scenery festival one bestknown passage vietnamese literature along river ching ming festival zhang zeduan cold food festival three consecutive day starting day qingming festival saint day soul day two christian observance commemorating dead day dead mexican celebration similar qingming festival double ninth festival another day visit clean cemetery chinese bon festival japanese counterpart ghost festival hansik related korean holiday day dust clearing similar ritual middleeast ghost festival winter clothes day chinese holiday honoring dead radonitsa pomynky similar holiday eastern slav traditional chinese holiday filial piety chinese culture parentalia roman culture aijmer göran ancestor spring qingming festival central china journal hong kong branch royal asiatic society – jstor medium related qingming festival wikimedia common