i read an article in STARTWO newspaper
which i guess not much people have it
Mum got it and ask us to read this article about Qing Ming
i think it's interesting
so i decided to share it with you guys...
it helps us to know better about this festival
here goes :
Qing Ming literally means "clear brightness."
The winter chill is over and the warmth of the sun and energy of Spring is felt.
Thus Qing Ming is also known as Pure Brightness Day and Tomb Sweeping Day.
Once, it was a Spring ceremony commemorated by the onset of planting and the start of outdoor activities.
Over the centuries, the festival which celebrates the renewal of life, turned into a "festival of the dead" marked by grave site worship in remembrance of one's ancestors.
The festival was believed to have originated even before the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), but ceremonial rites only began in the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
During the Tang Dynasty, the festival is celebrated one or two days before Pure Brightness day and lasted for several days.In ancient times, folks were allowed to rest for four to seven days.
Another event, the Cold Food Festival (food was prepared a day before and eaten cold the next day), was also celebrated but over time, the two festivals merged into one.
Traditionally, on Qing Ming people hold memorial ceremonies at the graves of departed loved ones, visit the forest to see the regeneration of trees in Spring and play ball games such as cuju or football and polo.Nowadays, only forest tours and tomb-sweeping are observed.
Food and hell money are offered to the dead to keep them happy in the hope of receiving abundant blessings of health, wealth and good harvest.
Specially prepared dishes complete with rice are offered in the family hall. An even number of dishes are set out to correspond to the yin principle. (Sacrifices to deities are considered yang and dishes are set out in odd numbers.) The food offerings are later shared among family members.
Grave site offerings of foods are less palatable. In the old days, dry foods was offered because it was lighter to transport to the grave sites located far away. Some believe that the less appetizing food was to mark the distance in the relationship between the living and the dead.
Some Chinese place offerings before the ancestral tablet at home and skip going to the grave site during Qing Ming. Is this practice acceptable?
The grave site is the best place for ancestral worship during Qing Ming to show our love and respect for the departed. We need to ensure that the grave is always maintained and in good condition. By cleaning and tidying the tomb, which is regarded as the "real home" of the departed, we demonstrate our genuine love, unchanged by time, for them.
Buddhism and Daoism promote the practice of praying to one's ancestors as a rational way of showing deep gratitude. We practice daily remembrance or worship of our ancestors at home to show our filial piety and gratitude, and hope that such rituals will provide an exemplary model for our children.
Some say that food offered to the dead at the grave sites should not be eaten because the spirits have extracted the essence of the food. Thus the food is unclean. What is your comment?
Exposed food laid out in the open at grave sites, under the scorching sun, may turn bad or get contaminated. However, if it is set out in a proper and clean environment, it may still be safe to eat.
Food is offered while paying homage to the deceased because the living still regard the dead as being in their midst as they still live on in their hearts. This ritual of appeasing the dead should not be turned into an argument of faith or a debate on whether the soul exists or not after death. We must no cease to show love and respect of our ancestors.
The act of sharing and partaking of food offered to the ancestors at the grave sites, established a sense of belonging or togetherness as a family or community. It is also symbolic of collective responsibility in continuing a significant tradition.
It is social education for the young and instills in them the message that we treasure the contributions of the older generations to the family, community and nation. In fact, members of clan houses and associations in South-east Asia still uphold this tradition.
Some believe that in certain cases, praying to the departed will bring bad luck. For example, if a departed is born on a "broken day" and die on a "broken day", all family members are forbidden to go to the grave site to pay homage, to avoid bad luck. Instead the family members pay someone perhaps a cemetery worker to pray on their behalf. What are your thoughts on this?
This taboo associated with a broken day is a superstitious one. According to the Chinese calendar, a broken day (por yat in Cantonese) is set aside for preparing a breakthrough. It is a suitable day for getting rid of old and negative elements. It is also a good day for surgery or to start a healing process.
According to the calendar system of 12 Jianchu-days, the broken day will be repeated through a cycle of every 12 days. Therefore, you have a chance to change your life and prepare for a breakthrough every 12 days.
For sure, there are many people who are born or die on broken days. The superstitious beliefs associated with a broken day were declared nonsensical during the Qing dynasty when Emperor Qian Long ordered his government to revise the Chinese calendar system, which is being practiced to this day.
The Chinese believe that filial piety is the foundation of a stable and harmonious society. Anything that goes against this principle is treated as a deviation.
Qing Ming Etiquette
Wrong Side
The Chinese practice ancestor worship because they are driven by filial piety to care for the soul of their departed loved ones. Sons venerate their departed parents and paternal grandparents, while daughters venerate their father's side before marriage and their husband's side after marriage. However, some Chinese families refuse to allow married daughters to worship their departed parents and ancestors for fear that they may "take away" the sons' fortune.
Family Unity
The Chinese believe that the entire family should go together to perform prayers at the grave site to foster closer ties. Some feel that if the family members go separately, there may be discord in the family. There is also a belief that the person who secretly goes and worships ahead of the others may be more blessed and enjoy prosperity. On the other hand, those who neglect to pay homage may incur the displeasure of the ancestors and risk getting punished.
Law of Attraction
Visitors to the graveyards wear bright colors rather than dark colors like black which may attract evil spirits. Pregnant women, babies and toddlers are discouraged from visiting graveyards for fear that loitering spirits might take advantage of the physically weak, hoping to snatch their souls. Young children who accompany their parents are cautioned against making too much noise, thus disturbing other spirits.
To eat or not to eat?
It is common to see families partaking of food served as offerings to the departed. However, some are dead set against consuming such food for fear of incurring the anger of the dead. They feel that food offered to the departed should be left behind as a show of sincerity. But others disagree with this notion, and will happily tuck into the food later in the hope of getting blessings and protection from the dead. Some families place joss-sticks on nearby graves as a goodwill gesture to invite the "neighbours" to join in.
Gifts to the underworld
Worshipers are careful not to stir paper offerings which are being burnt, so that the deceased will not end up with a dented car or damaged house. Crates of gold notes and hell currency sent to the deceased must bear the names of sender and recipient, or they may risk being taken by others.
Wake-up call
Visitors to the grave sites sometimes let off fire-crackers as a "wake-up" call for the spirits. After leaving the offerings at the tombs for some time, the worshipers flip coin twice to check on the progress. Two heads or two tails means that the spirits have not finished savoring the delicacies. A head and a tail means that they have finished their meals.
Kleptomaniacs not allowed
If you see an umbrella on the grave, leave it alone. Don't even think of borrowing it to keep the sun or the rain out. The umbrella is a symbolic shield for the dead from the thunder and lightning. The visitor who takes the umbrella risks inviting the spirit to his home. Similarly, coins found on cemetery grounds should remain on the ground as it is believed that they belong to the spirits.
Watch you step
The living should avoid stepping on hell currencies at the grave site lest the spirits feel despised and trampled upon. It is also forbidden for one to walk over or tread on someone's grave. Old Chinese cemeteries are rather crowded with narrow walkways between graves. If you need to cross over a grave, it is customary to say : "Excuse me. Pardon me for crossing over your abode."
Forbidden fruits
A banana tree marks the grave of a pregnant woman who died in childbirth. As the banana tree is fast growing, it is planted to appease the spirit of the dead. The belief is that when the tree bears fruit, the spirit will be comforted as the banana is symbolic of a new child to take place of the woman's unborn child. It is forbidden to pluck the banana as this may cause anguish to the spirit and incur her wrath.
The pineapple is regarded as an auspicious fruit to usher in luck (ong lai in Hokkien means "luck comes"). The fruit is offered at the grave site and then taken home. The fruit can be eaten but the crown of the pineapple is often planted in the garden. Some believe that by doing so, the family will prosper.
Call in the contractors
Cracked tombs must be repaired or misfortune may befall the next-of-kin or future generations. Similarly, water-logged graves are bad feng shui and must be renovated to avert bad luck and misfortune.
Curiosity kills
When scrutinising the tombstones of strangers, do not pass comments like : "Oh, what a pity he died young". Or, "Isn't she pretty?" Such remarks may be misinterpreted by the spirit which may follow you home.
Fire or water cleansing?
Before visiting the grave sites, some Chinese would place pomelo leaves and sprigs of pine in their pockets. These leaves are believed to serve as talismans. The leaves are thrown away before the worshipers reach home, to shake off bad luck.
Shoe code
Slippers and sandals are not worn to the grave sites. The Chinese wear shoes, and when they reach home, they would remove the socks and shoes and wash them to get rid of bad luck. They do not want to bring the earth from the cemetery into their homes for fear that they may attract evil spirits. some will prepare a pail of water with immersed pomelo or kaffir lime leaves to wash their faces, hands and legs. This is followed by a head-to-toe bath as a second cleansing to ward off any evil spirits that may have followed them home.
I did Qing Ming Mummy's side previous weeks. Didn't go back to Sibu with my parents for quite some time already (Qing Ming Daddy's side).
maybe will go back next year. I bet my grandma missed me a lot. Cause she's the one who love me the most! and took care of me since i was young til i reach the age of 7 she's gone.
She never scold me even i was really naughty and always quarrel with her.
LOL!
she also loves to 'kacau' me to make me angry.
you know..kids.
I didn't know how grandpa look like cause he passed away when my Dad was still a young boy.
so all i had is memories with Grandma.
i did cut it short some of it.
i hope you enjoyed reading this.
=)
cute right?
the new one =)
old one =S
and me with my new spec on
