Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
I don't think I have heard the word "green" as many times as I have this week. And, that is a GOOD thing. Finally, Earth Day is getting the spotlight that it deserves. It seems everyone is getting into the act and I say "get on that bandwagon!" If you want to be trendy, this is the time to do it! 
couldn't leave that BLAH post at the top - so I thought I would show off my new shoes . . ."In solar terms, the Qingming festival is on the 1st day of the 5th solar
term, which is also named Qingming. Its name denotes a time for people to go
outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime (踏青 Tàqīng, "treading on the
greenery"), and also to tend to the graves of departed ones. It is an official
public holiday in the Republic of China, as well as in Hong Kong and Macau though not in mainland China.
Tomb Sweeping Day and Clear Brightness Festival are the most common English
translations of Qingming Festival. Tomb Sweeping Day is used in several English
language newspapers published in the Republic of
China.
For the Chinese, it is a day to remember and honour one's ancestors.
Young and old pray before the ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food, tea,
wine, chopsticks, (joss) paper acessories, and/or libation to the ancestors. The
rites are very important to most Chinese and especially farmers. Some people
carry willow branches with them on Qingming, or put willow branches on their
gates and/or front doors. They think that willow branches help ward off the evil
ghosts that wander on Qingming. Also on Qingming, people go on family outings,
start the spring plowing, sing, dance, and Qingming is a time where young
couples start courting. Another popular thing to do is fly kites (in shapes of
animals, or characters from Chinese opera)."
"The Qing Ming Festival has its origins in the Cold Food Festival (Hanshi
Jie) of ancient times. On the Cold Food Festival, people could only eat cold
food or pre-cooked food. Heating by fire is not allowed. Do you know why?
This custom is said to have originated from the Spring
and Autumn Period (770-475 B.C.). In the state of Jin, there were evil men who
wanted the Duke of Jin's eldest son, Chong'er, dead. Jie Zitui, Chong'er's loyal
retainer, smuggled him out of the state of Jin in the middle of the night.
Because Chong'er had always shown concern for his people's welfare, Jie tried his best to take care of Chong'er during his exile. Once, when they were on the verge of starvation, Jie even cut out a piece of his own flesh to feed Chong'er. He did this in the hope that when Chong'er finally returned to the state of Jin, he would be a benevolent and dutiful ruler.
More than a decade later, Chong'er finally became
Duke Wen of Jin. He then rewarded all those who had given him assistance during
his exile. However, he forgot all about Jie. He only remembered Jie when someone
reminded him, and he immediately sent for him so that he could get his
reward.
But Jie had already gone into the mountains with his mother to live a life of seclusion. Duke Wen and his ministers looked for him in the mountains but to no avail. Just then someone suggested that they set fire to the mountains. Jie was well known for being a filial son, thus he would surely escape the blaze with his old mother.
The fire burnt for three days and three nights but Jie still did not appear. After the fire died down they found Jie with his mother on his back under a willow tree.
Both had been burnt to death. Duke Wen then regretted what he had done and was
extremely saddened. He decreed that this day be the Day of Cold Food. No one was
to use fire. Everyone had to eat cold food for a day to honor Jie Zitui's
loyalty.
In ancient times, the Cold Food and Qing Ming Festivals were both observed. The Cold Food Festival preceded the Qing Ming Festival by one or two days. The rituals for both festivals also bore strong resemblance to each other. In time, the Cold Food and Qing Ming Festivals merged into one."
"Sweeping the graves of one's ancestors is something descendents do as a
sign of respect. A proper sweeping consists of three steps: cleaning the grave,
making offerings to ancestors and burning ceremonial money.
Cleaning the grave was just what it sounds like -
removing weeds, making necessary repairs, and repainting the gravestone
engravings.
After the clean up, families made offerings of
meat and fruit to the guardian spirit of the graveyard (Hou Tu) followed by
incense offerings to their ancestors.
There are different ways to burn ceremonial money in different parts of China. Joss paper is usually burnt, however, in some places it is not burnt but tossed into the air. Then there is the practice of placing a stone over pieces of yellow and white or multi-colored joss paper on the gravestone, the front of the grave and at the
Hou Tu's alter. The offering of joss paper represents wealth given to the
ancestors for use in the underworld - it also shows that the descendents have
visited the graves!
The rituals of grave sweeping have been simplified by the Chinese in modern times. After sweeping the graves, families offer fruit and flowers to their ancestors and remember them in their hearts. Whatever the rituals may be, Qing Ming Festival is an expression of the filial spirit of the Chinese and the respect they have for their forefathers."
{NOTE: I have a lot of links in this post. For those of you who are not as blog savvy, just click on any of the items that are underlined and it will take you to the article or link. (or at least I hope it will)}
"According to a government decision on tree planting issued in
1981, Chinese citizens aged from 11 to 55 are required to plant three to five
trees every year, aiming to increase China's forest coverage rate." Source:
Xinhua UPDATED: 13:39, April 01, 2007
