Qingming Festival (清明节) is a very interesting tradition in China! It falls on April 4th or 5th, and it’s an official day off for everyone in China.

Qingming Festival is also known as Tomb Sweeping Day, when Chinese people honor their ancestors by cleaning their tombs and leaving offerings. “Qingming” also means ‘clearness’ and ‘brightness’ in Chinese, and it marks the start of warm spring weather and farm work.

How to celebrate Qingming?

The Qingming Festival features a variety of traditional activities, including tomb maintenance, spring outings, kite flying, and placing willow branches on gates. These customs have remained significant since the festival’s inception.

Follow Old Tradition Using Modern Means

People honor their ancestors by visiting their graves. They clean the tombs, offer food and drink, burn incense, and may even hold online ceremonies. In modern times, the tradition has become simpler, with many people just placing flowers on the graves.

Due to busy lifestyles, some cannot visit the graves in person and online ceremonies are becoming more common. This tradition usually takes place around the Qingming Festival, at different times depending on the region and ethnicity.

Don’t’s during Tomb Sweeping:

• Don’t take photos in cemeteries (or in other tomb areas), as this is considered disrespectful and a bringer of bad luck.
• Don’t sweep tombs after 3pm as it is believed to be inauspicious.
• Don’t wear clothes with bright colors or skimpy clothes.
• Don’t reverse the order of sacrifice. The right order is as follows: renovate the tomb, offer incense and sacrifices, toast the deceased, and finally kowtow or bow in worship.
• Don’t eat or laugh loudly when performing the rituals, as this is considered disrespectful.
• Don’t visit friends and relatives on Tomb Sweeping Day as it is a special day for commemorating the departed.
• Do not participate in others’ grave sweeping as it will bring bad luck.

Willow Branches on Gates

During the Qingming Festival, some people put soft willow branches on gates and front doors to keep away evil spirits.

This custom is influenced by Buddhism, where the Goddess of Mercy Guanyin is often depicted with a willow branch to ward off demons. There is an old saying that putting willow branches on gates can drive ghosts away from houses.

Outing and Kites

Qingming, also known as Taqing Festival, is a spring outing when people enjoy the spring blossoms. It signifies the warmer weather and encourages outdoor activities. Flying kites is a common way to relax and is seen as a way to ward off misfortune during this holiday.

“Happy Qingming Festival”?

The Qingming Festival is about showing respect for departed spirits and making sacrifices. It’s not right to greet others with words like “happy,” “joyful,” or “merry.”

To greet others without offense on Qingming day, it is better and more polite to say:

• Wishing you all best for Qingming Festival. (清明安好)
• Wishing you health and safety for Qingming Festival. (清明健康平安)

What Are Traditional Foods for Qingming Festival?

Different places have different foods for Qingming Festival. The traditional Qingming festival foods include sweet green rice balls, crispy cakes, Qingming Zong. These foods are usually cooked one or two days before the arrival of the Qingming Festival so people can eat and recreate during the holidays.

Legend about Qingming’s Origin

There’s a story about the Qingming Festival linked to Mianshan, near Pingyao Ancient Town. It’s also known as Jieshan, named after Jie Zitui who helped Prince Chong’er when he was in trouble. Jie even sacrificed his own flesh to save the prince. Later, when the prince became a king, he forgot about Jie, who was living in seclusion. The king tried to find him but a jealous subject suggested setting fire to the mountain where Jie was hiding. Sadly, Jie and his mother died in the fire. Deeply regretting this, the king designated the day before Qingming as the ‘Cold Food Festival’ to honor Jie. Eventually, the two festivals merged, and now some people still eat cold food on Qingming Festival to remember Jie’s sacrifice.