Ching Ming celebration or Remembrance of Ancestors Day
or Grave Sweeping Day
is a day when the family members visit
the graves of loved ones and pay their respect for the deceased...
It is also a day for family members to get together and
clean the graves and for the Chinese...presenting their
deceased loved ones with things that they can use in the after life...
(after life sounds better than hell)
Well...it usually falls on the 4th or 5th of April....
for this year it falls on the 4th of April but usually, to avoid the traffic and chaos
of the real day itself...most Chinese families will do it earlier
on Sunday...
Chin's family never does it on the real day it usually
falls on a working day...
It is an interesting celebration for me because i have never
attended and seen this festival before...
for us Christian we have All Saints Day whereby we will pray for
our loved ones who had deceased...
The preparation for Ching Ming is very elaborate for the well off families
and before it is being commercialised
(as all celebrations seem to be nowadays)
family members have to fold their own prayer papers...
in various shapes - gold bars etc.
But nowadays...all these can be bought from the shops...
all they have to prepare are the food...
Thee food for my FIL
Some of the things that people buy would amaze you...
at least me....hahaha...
All these things will be burnt for the deceased in the hope that
they would receive and use them for their comfort in the afterlife.
Most would burn money...or hell notes...
some would burn paper vehicles like cars etc.
My Bro-in-law bought this for my FIL as he didn't
know how to drive (2008)
Box of money and underneath are gold bars...
My MIL would wake up at 5 something in the morning to prepare the food
in a picnic baskets and by 7 sumting we would all
pile into the cars and drive to the grave which is situated
next to the Catholic Church in Mantin.
Eventho it is still early...the grave area is already buzzing with activities
and sounds...
After parking the car, we would carry the boxes of paper offering, incense,
joss sticks and the basket of food to the
grandparents's graves first...
(to be continued)
is a day when the family members visit
the graves of loved ones and pay their respect for the deceased...
It is also a day for family members to get together and
clean the graves and for the Chinese...presenting their
deceased loved ones with things that they can use in the after life...
(after life sounds better than hell)
Well...it usually falls on the 4th or 5th of April....
for this year it falls on the 4th of April but usually, to avoid the traffic and chaos
of the real day itself...most Chinese families will do it earlier
on Sunday...
Chin's family never does it on the real day it usually
falls on a working day...
It is an interesting celebration for me because i have never
attended and seen this festival before...
for us Christian we have All Saints Day whereby we will pray for
our loved ones who had deceased...
The preparation for Ching Ming is very elaborate for the well off families
and before it is being commercialised
(as all celebrations seem to be nowadays)
family members have to fold their own prayer papers...
in various shapes - gold bars etc.
But nowadays...all these can be bought from the shops...
all they have to prepare are the food...
Thee food for my FILSome of the things that people buy would amaze you...
at least me....hahaha...
All these things will be burnt for the deceased in the hope that
they would receive and use them for their comfort in the afterlife.
Most would burn money...or hell notes...
some would burn paper vehicles like cars etc.
My Bro-in-law bought this for my FIL as he didn'tknow how to drive (2008)
Box of money and underneath are gold bars...My MIL would wake up at 5 something in the morning to prepare the food
in a picnic baskets and by 7 sumting we would all
pile into the cars and drive to the grave which is situated
next to the Catholic Church in Mantin.
Eventho it is still early...the grave area is already buzzing with activities
and sounds...
After parking the car, we would carry the boxes of paper offering, incense,
joss sticks and the basket of food to the
grandparents's graves first...
(to be continued)
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