Today is a traditional festival Qingming Festival. For the Chinese, it is a day to remember and honour one's ancestors at grave sites. Young and old pray before the ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food, tea, wine, chopsticks, paper money, and libation to the ancestors. The rites are very important to most Chinese and especially farmers. In defferent area of China, there are also some different traditional activities in this day. In my area, children usually receive some gifts that are swallows or other animals made of flour. Qingming in Chinese means clear and bright. This festival also means the coming of Spring and a time for people to go outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime. From this year, Qingming Festival becomes an official holiday in China and have three days off.
It is interesting that I also find many different English expression about its name. Show you.
All Souls Day Clear Brightness Festival
Festival for Tending Graves
Grave Sweeping Day
Chinese Memorial Day
Tomb Sweeping Day
Spring Remembrance
It is heard that Tomb Sweeping Day is used in several English language newpapers published in China.
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4 comments:
Many Chinese student wrote this festerval. In my opinion, today should rain, but in Calgary, it doesn't.
They have three days holiday, and I also want to have three days holiday...
How come we have so many English names of this festival. For me, it seems so far away from me, though I never forget it.
Since I came here i rarely celebrated Chinese festival and that made me really missed my home country---China.
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