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Qingming, the tomb-sweeping festival
Families clean the graves of their dead, make offerings and burn paper goods for use in the next world.
About Qingming, the tomb-sweeping festival
Qingming is a solar term in early April, when families visit graves, pull weeds, set out food and wine, and burn joss paper, paper money and models of houses and goods. The belief behind it is that the dead continue to need what the living once needed, and that unattended ancestors may become restless or hungry. Willow twigs are hung on doors or worn in the hair in some regions, and are said to ward off wandering spirits at a time when the veil between worlds is held to be thin. The day is now a public holiday in mainland China, and burning is restricted in some cities for fire safety and air quality, with online memorials offered as an alternative.
Entries tied to it
Also part of it, and being written: Qingming Festival (The grave-sweeping day itself.).
Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Qingming Festival" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family, and are described as belief and practice. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Ancestor veneration in China: Three huntings, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Joss paper: Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source