Qing Ming Festival - Paying Respect

The Qing Ming Festival (清明节) is a festival where families go tomb sweeping (扫墓) - the need to clear weeds and clean the tomb of their ancestors. This festival is a deeply-rooted Chinese traditional event recognized in most of the Asia countries like China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, etc. It is a time for all, young and old, to remember and pay respect to their ancestors and dearly departed.

This year, the Qing Ming Festival falls on 4th April 2013. According to the ancient custom, the grave site veneration is only feasible ten days before and after the Qing Ming Festival. If the visit is not on the actual date, it is normally encouraged to venerate before the Qing Ming Festival. It is also said that the Chinese normally visit the graves of their recently deceased relatives on the nearest weekend to the actual date.

On Qing Ming, some countries are entitled to a holiday while some countries aren't. Despite having no holiday on the Qing Ming Festival in Singapore, the Chinese communities also make an effort to take this festival seriously and observe its traditions faithfully. For the Chinese communities in Singapore, the Qing Ming Festival is very much a family reunion and, at the same time, a family obligation. This festival is seen as a time to honour, pay respect and give thanks to their forefathers.

Traditionally, the family will burn paper money and paper replicas of material goods such as clothes, shoes, daily necessities, cars, homes, phones, paper servants, etc. This is because in the Chinese culture, it is believed that the ancestors still need all of these things in their afterlife.

To summarize, the main part of Qing Ming Festival involves families paying their respect to their deceased ancestors/forefathers. The need to clear and pull all the weeds that grows on the tomb as well as sweep and clean the tomb on their visit. The families will also bring the person’s favourite food and drinks as sacrifices. Other sacrifices includes paper money and other paper replicas that would be burned since the Chinese believed that the ancestors needed all of these in their afterlife.

Having said that it is encouraged to venerate before the Qing Ming Festival if the visit is not on the actual date, our family went today - before the Qing Ming Festival. We went to the Choa Chu Kang Cemetery and the Choa Chu Kang Columbarium to pay our respect. We brought many sacrifices like food and drinks as well as bags of paper money, other paper replicas, etc that was nicely packed in the bags by ourselves so that it is easier to burn.

Choa Chu Kang Cemetery

Choa Chu Kang Columbarium

I must say that today, being a holiday, is a day that people chose to visit as there were a lot of cars and jams everywhere especially during the later part of the morning. We were lucky that we went earlier because even though there were a lot of people and cars, it was not as bad as when we were heading back. When we were heading back, we saw long queues of cars jam outside the road, not moving a single bit. Luckily, we went early in the morning to avoid the crowds and when the crowds arrived, we were heading back already.