Qing Ming Festival

Introduction
Process
Cold Food Feast

Introduction

Qing Ming 清明 is also known as All Souls' Day. It was originally a celebration of spring, falling in early April, 106 days after the winter solstice. On this day, families usually go to their ancestor's cemeteries and tidy the graves, place red candles and joss-sticks on the stone altar and offer food, drinks and flowers to the deceased in the afterlife. But first, the Soil God has to be appeased with an offering so that he would not take the food reserved for the ancestors.

The Chinese consider the dead as living and the grave as their abode. The grave will not be build until a geomancer is consulted, who will read the feng shui 风水 on the occupant of any place. The day to start excavating would also have to be carefully picked to be auspicious.

To rest in peace, graves are usually on a south-facing hillside, with protective walls on each side to keep off east and west winds. It should also be located over an underground water source.

Process

On Qing Ming Festival, families start out early in the morning to tide up the area around their ancestor's tombs – to give them a spring-cleaning. Weeds are uprooted, tombstone and site wiped clean, flowers and foods offered. Yellow ribbons are placed on the end of a bamboo stick, or kept in place by a stone, on top of the tomb. These ribbons are believed to stave off homeless, wandering spirits neglected by their descendants.

Cold Food Feast

Cold Food Feast 寒食节takes place on Qing Ming Eve. On this day, Jie Zi Dui 介子推, a loyalist living in Shanxi Province (600 BC), saved his starving lord's life by a noble act of sacrifice. His lord became the ruler of a small principality, and wanted to reward Jie, who declined. Jie, bearing his mother on his back, fled while a search party was sent after him, to hide in a forest of Mount Mian. In order to force them out of the forest, a fire was started, which in the end burnt both mother and son. To remember this story, all fires in homes were ordered to be put out on Jie's death anniversaries. Thus people had to eat uncooked food, and the practice continued till today.

Point of Interest

Are wedding gifts necessary for the bride before the marriage?