Well-known lines by Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu describe a sad scene in early April: "The ceaseless drizzle drips all the dismal day. So broken-hearted fares the traveler on the way.(,)".       In China, Qingming Day, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, falls every April. People visit their ancestors' graves to clean away the dirt. Schools sometimes organize a trip to a local martyr's park where students show their respect for those who lost their lives in revolutionary wars.       In most Western countries there is no equivalent  of tomb-sweeping day, but people still value the opportunity to remember loved ones. On the anniversary of a death,  s visit the cemetery. Often they will leave flowers.        In the US, the last Monday of May is Memorial Day. It is a holiday to show respect for those who died defending the country. The most common way to recognize the day is to wear a small piece of yellow ribbon on the chest. People also fly their own American flags. Sometimes they put a small flag on their car, tied to the antenna .Flags are also flown in yards. In the morning, all flags should be flown at half-mast  in honor of fallen soldiers.        In Britain, people wear red paper replica poppies  in November in remembrance of those who died or were injured in all fighting, but most particularly in World War I. Why the poppy? It goes back to a poem written by John McCrae in 1915. He saw the fragile flowers growing on the graves of soldiers.        McCrae wrote: "In Flanders fields the poppies blow between the crosses, row on row." The poppies make people think of fields of blood. The flowers also live only briefly, like the soldiers who fell in the war. When do people visit the cemetery in most Western countries?
On the last Monday of May. In November. On the anniversary of death. On Tomb-Sweeping Day.