Happy 清明节!

Different cultures have different ways of declaring that Spring has finally sprung, whether it is daffodils sprouting on your lawn and trees blooming, or holidays such as Holi in India and Qingming in China.

This weekend in China is the official start of spring and it is being rung in with the celebration of QingMing (清明) or the Tomb Sweeping Festival. While it isn't one of the biggest holidays in China, we still get off work/school so that is a good enough reason to celebrate in my book!

This holiday originated from the Cold Food Festival (寒食節), dating back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-470BCE). It was a festival to honor and remember the life and work of Jie Zitui. Jie was the guard and confidant of Chong'er, Duke Wen of Jin. He was so loyal, he stayed with Duke Wen throughout his years of exile and, according to legend, even cut off a bit of his thigh to make sure the Duke had meat in his soup. Once Duke Wen was returned to the throne, Jie retired from his duties and hid in the forest with his mother. Duke Wen, desperate to continue to have Jie's guidance, decided to burn the forest in order to force Jie out... We all know how that ends.

Sadly, Jie and his mother were both burnt to death in the fire. Duke Wen, overcome with guilt and grief, ordered three days of no fire in honor of Jie (hence "cold food" festival). While this is an ancient tale and could very well be more legend than historical fact, you can still find evidence of it's truth--the place where the fire took place is now called Jiexiu which means Jie's Rest.



Duke Wen reigned from 636-628BCE

But if we look at Qingming, today, it is not in honor of a Duke's advisor and confidant who died tragically over 2,000 years ago. The version of the holiday we celebrate today was created over a thousand years later by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Emperor Ming for short). At this time in Chinese history there was an extremely wide gap between the wealthy and the poor of China and nobles enjoyed spending enormous amounts of money on celebrations and festivals to honor their ancestors. Emperor Ming, hoping to put a stop to the frivolous spending, declared that there would be a holiday dedicated to remembering and honoring one's ancestors and that would be the only time in the year that anyone--nobleman or farmer--could honor their ancestors in such a way. Today, we call it Qingming or the Tomb Sweeping Festival.

Emperor Ming... my, what a guy! Thanks for the day off!

The name gives everything away--Tomb Sweeping. Chinese--both mainland and those living overseas--visit the tombs of their ancestors: whether they died last year or a hundred years ago. They clean the tomb (shock shock!), decorate it with flowers, burn incense and fake paper money, and they also offer food to their ancestors. Many people also purchase willow branches to carry around in order to ward off evil spirits that might also be wandering around on Qingming.

Fake money to burn for your ancestors--sometimes they are modern day bills with Mao on them and other times they are more traditional.

Here we can see food offerings for the ancestors as well as the beautiful decorations left in their honor. 

For a country that is moving forward and developing so quickly, it's nice to know that at least once a year, many still return to their family tomb and remember their ancestors and show respect and love for their family.

And of, course a Chinese holiday would be incomplete without a special food you're supposed to eat. Mid-Autumn Festival has moon cakes and Dragon Boat Festival has zhongzi. For Qingming, we eat qingtuan which are green dumplings made of glutinous rice and either Chinese mugwort or barley grass. Sadly, I have not managed to find these yet.

While Qingming may not be the most popular holiday in China (let's be honest, it's no Spring Festival), it is still important... so much so that you can find similar customs in different cultures all over the world. It's so similar to our Halloween and Mexico's Día de Muertos with the idea that the veil between Here and There is thin enough for the spirits of our loved ones and ancestors to return and visit us. Halloween has definitely taken on a much more secular, fun path while  Día de Muertos is still very much about honoring those who have already journeyed on ahead of us.

We see so many other similar festivals made to honor and remember those we love who are gone too soon. All Soul's Day is still practiced in Catholic parts of Europe. The Bon Festival (お盆) in Japan is held in August as a part of the Ghost Month.  And there's Gaijatra (गाई जात्रा) in Nepal, Chuseok (추석) in Korea, Pitru Paksha (पितृ पक्ष) in India.

One of the more interesting ones takes place in Madagascar. Every seven years in winter (which is actually June to September down under), the people of Madagascar take part in Famadihana, or the festival of Turning the Bones. Family members return to the family tomb and pull out the bodies of their dead relatives. With music and dancing they rewrap the bodies in silk scarves and spray perfume on them before parading around the tomb and being placed back inside. This may seem morbid to some of us, but it comes from the Malagasy belief that a person's spirit cannot enter the afterlife until their body is completely decomposed.

Sorry... I really like the macabre...

Anyway!

We are now off school until Tuesday (which is actually my usual schedule each week but I'll still take it). Yesterday, we wandered downtown... not to get qingtuan but a pizza buffet instead (no judging). While walking around we were able to see the difference in street vendors as the Tomb Sweeping Festival crept closer and closer. There are carts lining the sidewalk, selling incense and paper money for you to burn at altars and tombs. Old ladies sell beautiful paper flowers to decorate gravesites. We even saw a few men selling palm branches (at the time, we didn't know it was anything special--but remember: if you carry around a palm branch on the day of Qingming, you can protect yourself from any evil spirit that might cross your path).

This is on our street corner across from the super market.

I have to say it's interesting, being on this side of a death. In the past I would see Qingming as a romantic holiday, thinking back to all the love that led to you. Don't get me wrong--I'm not a stranger to people I know and love dying. My best friend died in a tragic accident when I was only nine. I lost three of my grandparents when I was nineteen. For years, I've encountered death and moved on... But my brother's death last April is one of those moments in your life that both haunts you and shapes you for the rest of your days. Sadly, being a member of the cancer community now, your life is filled with bad news and deaths far too soon--just two months ago now (how has it only been two months?) Jed's best friend's dad and our family friend, Dan Hughes, passed away after his epic battle with cancer. Because of how prevalent death has now become in my life, I see Qingming in a very different way than I did my first year in China. It's not a romantic holiday... if anything, people are grieving and it should be respected as it is celebrated.

I do think it's interesting that Qingming--a holiday intended to remember and honor family members who have died--falls in the same week as the one year mark of Jed passing away. I get a sort of Twilight Zone, are you f***ing kidding me feeling right about now (but not as much as the fact that Hong Kong Disneyland's Pin Trading Fun Day falls exactly on April 8th... one of Jed's favorite things to collect and do).

So even though I have no tomb to sweep, no money to burn, and no qingtuan to eat, I am joining the Chinese as they remember, mourn, and honor their family who have journeyed on, whether it was a thousand years ago or just one painfully long year ago...

 

 

Until Next Time,
Amanda