Ching Ming Festival

Ching Ming Festival is one of the 24 segments in Chinese calendar. It normally falls on the 4th or 5th of April because it's depended on the Cold Food Day (105 days after previous year's winter solstice). In the old days, Ching Ming was celebrated 3 days after the Cold Food Day but Cold Food Day was shorted to one day and then abandoned. So nowadays, Ching Ming and Cold Food Day fall on the same day although no one celebrate Cold Food Day any more. Ching Ming is also known as "Remembrance of Ancestors Day" or 'Grave Sweeping Day'.

On Ching Ming, Chinese people will visit their ancestors or relatives' graves. They have to carry incense sticks, joss sticks and paper offerings like paper money and paper clothes and any other paper accessories, depends how serious your family is with this thing. All paper offerings will be burnt for they believe that the relatives can receive the goods and even 'money' this way.

Moreover, they will carry bunches of flowers. Chrysanthemum is normally chosen. So don't give Chrysanthemum to Chinese people as gift because it's the flower used or linked to funeral & worshipping to deceased people although some households may find it to display home on normal days. Food like barbecue pork, steamed chicken, fruit and wine are offered during the ceremony. Then they will eat it up after the worshipping.

Some superstitious people even hang some willow branches on the front door of their houses. It's believed that willows help to get rid of evil spirits, when Ching Ming is one of the days that ghosts and spirits wander about.