QingMing Festival

While the Chinese New Years is the most important festival, the QingMing Festival is significant as a day for remembering ancestors. It falls on the 15^th day after the Spring Equinox (usually around the 5^th of April). There are a few names that this festival is called in English such as All Souls Day, Clear Bright Festival, Spring Remembrance, Grave Sweeping Day, etc…

In the following excerpt from Mulan, we can see perhaps the Disney representation of how Ancestors can look after the living.

ORIGIN

Historically, filial piety has been one of the most important aspects of Chinese culture. This filial piety extends after death because it is believed that the spirits of dead ancestors will look after the family when they are gone. Offerings of food and money can keep the ancestors happy in the spiritual world, and thus the living family will continually make sure to keep these ancestors happy in order to have their blessing. The origin of the QingMing Festival stretches back over two millennia and is derived from the Hanshi festival which means ‘cold food’. The Hanshi festival was originally held to commemorate a man named Jie Zitui, who had a cut a piece of his own leg for his starving lord to eat when he had been exiled. When his lord, the future Duke Wen returned to power, he forgot about Jie’s sacrifice, and so he left and holed himself into a mountain. Duke Wen, realizing that he wanted to reward Jie tried to find him in the mountain, but couldn’t so tried to weed him out with fire…but instead Jie would be found dead. Eventually the Hanshi festival and the QingMing Festival would be combined into just one and would be interconnected.

ACTIVITIES

As one of the name suggests, QingMing is grave sweeping day, so many family will go to graves to clean and tend to any weeds and underbrush which have grown out of hand around the grave. The family also offer flowers, food, drinks, and paper money for their dead ancestors. School children will also often go to Martyrs’ Park to pay respect to national heroes and martyrs who had sacrificed their lives for China.

Offerings made to the deceased on QingMing Jie

Another aspect of QingMing is the spring outing. It is a festival where people go out and appreciate the beauty of Spring, and also marks the day when planting season has resumed. It is a symbol for the end of winter, and the beginning of warm weather and nice rainfall.

Lastly, on this day, kites are flown both during the day and night. Also they will cut the string of the kite to let it fly free, and by doing this it said that it brings good luck and eliminates diseases.

Chinese New Years

In the United States, we celebrate the New Years on January 1st every year based on the Gregorian calendar. However, the Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival is celebrated based on the first day of the lunar calendar. This year, the Spring Festival, which how it is referred to in China (Chun Jie) falls on February 3^rd. The importance of family and friends makes the Spring festival so important to the Chinese. This year, an estimated 230 million people will be traveling in what is sometimes termed the “biggest annual human migration”.  On the eve of the New Years, there is a large family dinner in which the foods served have symbolism in itself.

FOOD SYBOLISM:

Noodles à in serving uncut noodles, it represents a long life. My mom used to serve noodles for this same reason on my sibling and my birthday

Fish à prosperity and ‘surpluses’, amassing fortunes

Oranges à luck, fortune, and prosperity

Dumplings àresemble some ancient Chinese coins, plus just a really common food that the Chinese eat. Whenever I am home for any break, my mom cooks a lot of dumplings

Niangao àeating this food is supposed to bring in a more prosperous year. It is a combination of glutinous rice, wheat starch, salt, water, and sugar

Some of the food eaten during Chinese New Year

There are much more food that are eaten during this period, but these are the main foods served. Some other foods served include eggs, lychee, peanuts, pomelo, seeds, chicken, assorted cakes, etc… The whole purpose of this dinner and for the Spring Festival is to bring in a more prosperous year.

The next day (New Year’s day), everyone goes about visiting family and friends, beginning with those who they are most close with. My mom told me that this period of visitation was like an open house party, with the doors always open, and people coming in and out. For the children, they would receive money in red envelopes from the elders in the family. In Chinese culture, red is the symbol of luck, and has been constantly identified with China since ancient times. When I was younger, my parents would give us packets of money in red envelopes on Chinese New Year. At the time, I didn’t really understand why they were doing so, except that I enjoyed having money to spend. 

Red Envelope that money is given

Another aspect of the Spring Festival that is important is the decorations and festivities involved. When my mother was younger, fireworks were common as a means for celebration (not the huge fireworks that you see at Disney but the small everyday fireworks), however some places, especially urban areas, have banned fireworks/firecrackers in portions of the city (of course they aren’t always strictly regulated). The importance of fireworks in historical context is that it was meant to drive out evil spirits, but in its modern evolution, fireworks are significant as a way to express joy and the New Year. Like the red packets of money, most fireworks are rolled in red paper.

From this video, one can perhaps see why firecrackers are banned in certain places.

DECORATIONS and FESTIVITIES:

Flowers à  there are many flowers that are used for the New Years. Some are used to symbolize luck, like that of the Plum Blossom, while others like the kumquat symbolizes prosperity.

Lanterns à lanterns used are red and oval in shape

Dragon dance and Lion Dance à most common dances that are used to evict evil spirits, and often time are accompanied by loud drum beats and cymbals

The Spring Festival does not just end after the first day, but lasts another 15 days until the Lantern Festival, which marks the end of the New Years. During the lantern festival, families walk the streets carrying lanterns as a way to guide spirits. I have never actually participated in most of these celebrations, but there are now many sources that show that the younger Chinese generation would rather surf the net, watch TV, and hang out with friends than spend time with family during this time of family.

The Lantern Festival in Taiwan

Days of the Spring Festival

Day 1 à visiting of friends and family, giving of red envelopes, and welcoming of the new year

Day 2 à families pray to ancestors; dogs are treated very well as it is thought that it is the birth of dogs

Day 3 and 4 à son-in-laws pay respect to parent-in-laws

Day 5 à no socialization as it will bring bad luck

Day 6- 10à more visitation of family and friends. On the 7^th day, noodles are eaten to promote longevity. On day 8, prayers are made to Tian Gong, and on day 9, offerings to the Jade Emperor

Day 10-12 à friends and family are invited for dinner

Day 13 à day in which one eats simple food

Day 14 à preparation for the Lantern Festival

Day 15 à Lantern Festival

The Spring Festival brings about a new year and a hope for prosperity and health, and under the Chinese Zodiac, a new animal for the year, but this topic I will discuss in a later post.