The Ching Ming Festival, as it is known in Hong Kong, is a public holiday that takes place on the 15th day after the Spring Equinox.This is the day for families to remember and honour their ancestors. It's often known as Ancestors Day or Tomb Sweeping Day in English translation. Families visit and tend to the graves of their loved ones and pay their respect and well wishes. They clean the graves and place offerings of foods, drinks and, of course, incense.
This year, the Ching Ming Festival falls on April 5th. It's still the 4th where I am, but in Hong Kong it's currently the 5th. I don't believe I'll have much time to post about it tomorrow so I figured this would make a fairly good compromise.
I don't live there so I'm not accustomed to the usual things in Hong Kong. I learn of these things from my Mom. I remember visiting my grandfather's grave in China when I first travelled there. We cleaned the grave, placed our offerings and incense and prayed. I figure, this is basically all that happens on the day of the Ching Ming Festival. We weren't able to make it to China to do so on recent trip to Hong Kong, unfortunately.
How do you pay your respects to your ancestors?
2 comments:
Well seeing that i'm black, my acenstry so they say is from africa. I do abosultely nothing seeing as how i know nothing. But then again i don't think i'd care much anyway as bad as that sounds. I know that the african culture does freak me out tho!!! totally freak me out with the art and dancing and dress. I just keep my distance. Oh but what i do wonder about is the bible days!!! yes!! i want to know all about those times.
You don't have to do it the way Africans do just because they're your ancestors. You don't do anything to pay your respects to deceased relatives at all? It's just that some people may have their own way of doing things.
I realised that, generally, it seems Barbadians don't really do anything for the deceased except for a funeral and/or cremation. That's too bad.
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