Taboos & Questions about Qingming Festival

Taboos & Questions about Qingming Festival

The general practices of worshipping ancestors are fairly similar whether it is done at a cemetery, columbarium or temple. Food offerings are laid out in front of the grave or niche or at the temple altar. Red candles and joss sticks are also lit. Descendants pay their respects by kowtowing, kneeling or bowing before the grave, niche or tablet, usually with lighted joss sticks in their hands. Traditionally, male members of the family offer their prayers first, followed by the females.

Next, mock money and paper gifts are burned to ensure that the ancestors are not short of material comforts in the afterworld. These paper offerings include replicas of various items such as clothing and accessories, houses, cars, servants, televisions and mobile phones.Some believe that the paper gifts must be labelled with the names of both the deceased and the descendants to ensure that their ancestors receive the items on the other side.

In the Qingming Festival, when people sweep tombs to show respect for their ancestors and the deceased, there are a lot of traditional taboos to take note of.

1. Why is sacrifice referred to as worshiping mountains on Tomb-Sweeping Day?

Worshiping mountains in the festival refers to tomb sweeping because most of the graves are on the mountains in southern China. Actually, the practice of worshiping mountains is the same as visiting graves in northern China.

2. Do all of the Chinese ethnic groups sweep tombs during the Qingming Festival?

The Qingming Festival is a significant festival. There are about 25 ethnic groups which observe the Qingming Festival in China, but the ways of sacrifice and the local customs are diverse.

3. How do Chinese people sweep tombs?

According to the traditional custom, the first step of visiting a grave is cleaning the tomb; and putting some homemade dishes and flowers in the front of the tomb. Secondly, add some fresh soil, and burn incense along with paper money. Lastly, knee down or bow toward the grave.

4. Is it better to sweep a tomb as early as possible?

No, generally, people visit graves anytime from 7:00 to 16:00.

5. Could people perform the sacrifice at home?

Sacrifices in the Qingming Festival are usually performed in the graveyard, but if for some reason, people cannot come back to their home town, then they set up an altar on the balcony or in the hall where they are, looking toward the direction of their hometown to burn incense.

6. What types of flowers are appropriate for sending to the deceased?

Flowers are a visual expression of love and respect. They are a means to reminiscence about the deceased. White chrysanthemums are generally used to express lamentation, and grief is demonstrated with lilies and carnations.

7. Should mourners go on a fast before visiting a grave?

It is better to keep a fast and dress decently to express respect.

8. Don’t take photos in the graveyard.

It is believed that taking the photograph of mourners or tombs will bring misfortune.

9. Spring outings are a popular activity, but please don’t climb the mountain where a lot of tombs are located and say something unlucky. Especially pay attention to activities at night.

10. What color clothes do mourners wear?

Wearing red or green and other colorful clothes is strictly taboo during the tomb sweeping. Dark colors are recommended.

11. Is it OK to accompany a friend to visit their family’s grave?

Some people may get into a situation where they have to accompany their friend to visit the grave. It is better to keep some lucky items to ward off evil, such as a walnut bracelet and something jade.

12. Do not buy shoes during the Qingming Festival.

The pronunciation of the word shoes in Chinese is a homophone with ‘evil’, so that Chinese people never buy shoes on that day.

Qing Ming Festival Tomb Sweeping Do’s and Don’ts

In Chinese traditions, we have many yearly festival and one of them is the Qing Ming festival aka Tomb Sweeping. There are lot of taboos to take note and I will share some of them here.

1. Never joke around when you are making your offering.

2. Refrain from wearing all black (both shirt and pants) as it is inauspicious but it is fine if you wear black shirt but white pants or black shirt with jeans. Beside black, you should also avoid wearing red shirt, shoes.

3. You must not urine or spit at will near the place of offering.

4. Do not make noise, shout or joke when you are in the area making the offering.

5. It is advisable to to conduct the activity before 3pm in the afternoon.

6. It is also not recommended for pregnant woman to be around.

7. Do not consume food on the spot and also dressed properly because it signify respect for the dead.

8. Do not take photo in the vicinity of the graveyard.

9. Do not visit the tomb if you are not relative of the decease, for example boyfriend accompany girlfriend. 10. It is also best not to hold any wedding ceremony during this period. Bear in mind, it is always better to be safe than be sorry.

Taboo one, the sacrifice is not too late. Although the Ching Ming Festival is the day of sacrificing the ancestors, people will not wait until the Qingming Festival will be sacrificed, usually from spring After starting to sweep the tomb, listening to the old man said, the Ching Ming Festival can only be pushed in advance when the ancestors, that is to say that they can sacrifice before the Ching Ming Festival, but can't sacrifice after the Ching Ming Festival, because the ancestral tomb door is in the Ching Ming Festival It will be closed on the same day. If you sweep the tomb after the Ching Ming Festival, the things sent by the future generations cannot be received, so there is a saying that the evening is not sacrificed.

Taboo two, I can't get on the grave one morning. Now people's lives and work rhythm are very fast. Many people don't have time to sweep the tomb before the Ching Ming Festival, so some people will think of going to grave when they don't have to work in the morning, this practice is not advisable. This is because the level of the grave in the morning is heavy, and it will have a bad influence on his own, so you should go to the grave at noon.

Taboo three, taboo walking friends. The Ching Ming Festival is a Chinese traditional ritual festival, so before the Qingming Festival comes, people who are wandering outside the hometown will go to the souvenir. In Qingming Pay special attention to the tomb, don't take advantage of everyone, I will start to go to visit friends and do the door, because the tomb is very likely to have a yin, if you go to others, it will be caused Bring the dissatisfaction between others, it must pay attention to the dissatisfaction of others, so we must pay attention after the Qingming Festival, don't walk friends.

taboo four, taboo empty hands home. People usually take some tribute to the tomb before sweeping the tomb, and we can go home empty-handed after the grave, but after the Ching Ming Festival, they must not be empty, but to take a land on both sides of the grave. Listen to the elderly, doing this, it can get the meaning of the ancestors of the ancestors.

Taboo five, taboo to wear a green grave. The Ching Ming Festival is a good time for people to travel, but in the past, the Ching Ming Festival is the solemn festival of the ancestors, so in the Qingming When you have a grave sweeping the tomb, you must be solemn, you can't wear bright clothes and wear fancy jewelry, you can't smash and take pictures when you sweep the grave, this behavior is the representation of the ancestors.

Ancestral veneration is a Chinese custom originated from the thought of gratitude and is an act of filial piety. Every spring, the Chinese honour their ancestors and departed loved ones through Qing Ming Festival (清明节). Upholding such a practice is said to foster prosperity within the family, and whether or not one’s offering is appreciated by the recipient does not affect the validity of the wholesome karma of doing puja.

On the other hand, this social practice of intangible cultural heritage is also a time when people reflect on the interdependence of lives as one pays respect to ancestors and departed loved ones; no amount or size of offerings will ever be more important than one’s gratitude towards the deceased who had painstakingly built the lives that one reaps today.

Have you heard that you must take a bunch of jingling keys with you to Qingming prayers? Has anyone told you to visit the cemetery with coins in your pockets? It's believed that the keys and coins will help you find your way home, so that you don’t get lost or stranded.

Above all, the belief is that you must first worship the Earth Deity (Tai Pak Kung in Cantonese) before making offerings to the dearly departed. If you fail to do so, you will have trouble finding your forebearers’ graves.

Qingming, or Pure Brightness Day which falls on April 5 this year, is Tomb Sweeping Day for the Chinese. They pay respects to the dead by visiting their burial grounds and burning offerings. It's an important day in the 24 solar terms on the traditional Chinese calendar.

“The Chinese observe this ritual to show our respect and gratitude to our ancestors or loved ones,” says feng shui master Jessie Lee. Qingming, an act of filial piety, is an occasion for family members to gather in remembrance of their forefathers.