Qing Ming

Waking up early in the morning to go for Qing Ming (chinese All Souls Day) is a very tedious thing to achieve; especially you know that you will prefer to be in the your warm and comfy bed having sweet dreams; only to be kicked out of bed by your parents in the end. My grandfather used to tell me that every year, Qing Ming falls on 5th of April without fail. Qing Ming is a traditional Chinese festival on the 104th day after the winter solstice (or the 15th day from the Spring Equinox). Families will head out early to the graveyard of our ancestors, to clear the overgrown weeds that engulf their grave and of course, to feast on the food that one family can bring to the graveyards for prayers.

Now I have seen bizzare cases where people will bring at least a few carts of roasted pig's to the graveyards (I don't mean 2 or 3, what I saw was almost a dozen roasted pig). You will see a huge family gathering, laughing away and eating merrily while their maids will do all the gravesweeping. These families will then burn fire-crackers, made a mess out of the graveyard with the left over food that they cannot chew and leave. Out of this, stray dogs, ants or birds will happily feasts upon it. You will only see this kind of scenario on the exact day of Qing Ming. Qing Ming is normally celebrated in between 10 days before the exact day or 10 days after the exact day.

What's in store for me this year is lots of weed and of course, soft muddy grounds as I climbed the hills of Kubang Semang. The poor ground conditions were due to the rainfall that has been taking place every evening for the past week. It's ideal to start the climb as early as possible, just before the sun starts to shine. As far I as I can count, my family has 5 graves to sweep on that day and we did start as early as possible. It was a tiring ordeal. By the time when we're done, it's almost 10a.m. The sun is searing hot and I know I am starting to feel de-hydrated. The day is not yet over as we made our way to Bukit Berapit Crematorium for another visit to the deceased closer to heart, my beloved grandparents.

As I sat quietly in the crematorium; gazing over the urns of my grandparents, I recalled every single moment of their passing which brought a tear to my eyes. I do miss them... it has been almost 7 years ever since they've moved on. I don't know what others see in Qing Ming festivities; but to me, it gives me the opportunity to think of the years that has passed ever since my first Ching Ming visit up till now. As we made our way home from a tiring day sweeping graves, mom said this to Cindy "At least his father will not be too worried. In the future when we are no longer around, at least they still know how to go and grave sweeping with their children." Me and my little brother sits quietly and wonder if our children will be happy to follow us to gravesweep in the future or perhaps the tradition ends with us when we leave this world?

** This posting has no pictures posted as I don't think a picturistic moment taken at the graveyards will be an entertaining thing to see. **