The Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, is a holiday in China and other Asian countries where people honor their ancestors and celebrate the arrival of spring. Rooted in traditions that have been observed for over 2,500 years, it’s a holiday rich with history and meaning.
What Is the Purpose of the Qingming Festival?
The Qingming Festival observes ancient traditions to remember ancestors and to commemorate family heritage. It’s a time to sweep family graves and leave offerings for ancestors to show respect for the deceased. People hope that their ancestors will, in turn, bless them with prosperity.
If you have Chinese or other Asian heritage and wish to join in remembering your ancestors, the Qingming Festival is the perfect time! Find your family burial sites to visit and honor.
Those who live far from their family’s graves often make an effort to visit their hometowns. If the trip isn’t possible, you can still observe the holiday by reflecting on your family and remembering those who have passed, even if you can’t physically sweep their graves.
One traditional way to pay tribute even if you can’t visit family graves is to burn joss paper (sheets of bamboo or rice paper decorated with gold foil), otherwise known as ancestor money, to help the deceased have a good life in the spirit world. Joss money is often burned at intersections, signifying all the different directions the spirits of the deceased may have gone and ensuring that the offerings will reach them.
Reviewing family photos and sharing stories of the deceased is another great way to honor your ancestors. It’s a time to strengthen bonds with your living relatives as you spend the day together and reminisce about family memories.
Yulin Liu, a FamilySearch intern, enjoys celebrating the Qingming Festival with her family. "One of my fondest memories is the joy and laughter we shared on our way to visit our ancestors’ graves. Since the festival takes place in spring, the journey was always accompanied by the sight of blooming flowers.
I would often pick a few along the way and place one by the grave as a small tribute when we arrived. Sometimes, a family member would share heartfelt stories from their childhood or reminisce about memories they had with their parents or grandparents."
Qingming Celebrations and Customs
While the customs and traditions of the Qingming Festival may differ from region to region, people celebrate in some common ways:
- Tomb-sweeping: The most important tradition of the Qingming Festival is sweeping graves to clear debris and show respect for ancestors’ final resting sites. People may also restore tombs that have weathered or aged and remove weeds.
- Leaving offerings: Food, tea, and flowers are placed on ancestral graves as offerings that the deceased might enjoy in the afterlife.
- Burning incense: People often burn incense or joss paper (to represent money). The smoke drifting up represents the prayers and offerings being carried to their ancestors.
- Placing willow branches: Many families traditionally place willow branches on tombs or cemetery gates to ward off evil spirits.
- Visiting the ancestral hall: After cleaning graves, people sometimes visit the ancestral hall, a place to honor the ancestral spirits of a village or clan.
- Welcoming spring: After commemorating their ancestors, people celebrate the arrival of spring by flying kites or having picnics together.
- Flying kites: It’s believed that if you cut the string of your kite and let it blow away, it will carry your bad luck away with it.
What Do People Eat at the Qingming Festival?
Food is an important part of the Qingming Festival. Favorite dishes may vary depending on location, but here are 2 traditional dishes:
- Qingtuan (青糰): Green rice dumplings made with Chinese mugwort or barley grass
- Sanzi (馓子): Thin strands of fried dough that resemble noodles
Qingtuan is by far the most popular food during the festival. In rural China, ancestral graves are usually located in the hills or mountains. Along the walk to the graves, people often pass through fields and gather fresh mugwort, using it to make qingtuan when they arrive home. Mugwort gives the dumplings a green color, a symbol of spring.
Foods are often eaten cold, a tradition stemming from the Hanshi Festival (meaning the “Cold Food Festival”) that merged with the Qingming Festival over time. The custom of eating cold food for the day makes it possible for people to cook the day before and focus their efforts on tending to graves and honoring their ancestors.
How Many People Celebrate the Qingming Festival?
Millions, maybe even billions, of people celebrate the Qingming Festival, a major holiday in China and other Asian countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The holiday has also spread internationally with Chinese and other Asian diasporas. Celebrations differ between countries and regions, but they always include caring for tombs and gravesites and remembering family members who have passed.
When Is the Qingming Festival?
In China, the Qingming Festival usually falls on April 4, 5, or 6 using the international Gregorian calendar. The exact date is based on the Chinese calendar, a lunisolar calendar used with the Gregorian calendar to determine traditional Chinese holidays. The festival starts on the 1st day of Qingming (the 5th solar term), which is the 15th day after the Spring Equinox.
The festival itself is a 1-day national holiday. When it is combined with a weekend, some communities and families celebrate for 3 days.
Is the Qingming Festival Part of a Religion?
The Qingming Festival derives from Confucianism, an ethical belief system based on the teachings of Confucius. The philosophy emphasizes filial piety, having respect for elders and ancestors. Out of these beliefs, the Qingming Festival was born to honor ancestors and maintain their resting sites.
The festival also reflects Buddhist customs, the most common religion in China. Buddhist traditions include leaving offerings for the deceased and visiting and cleaning graves to show a deep respect for one’s ancestors.
The Legend Behind the Qingming Festival
For over 2,500 years, people in China and other Asian countries have paid respect to their ancestors by honoring and cleaning their gravesites. This ancient tradition evolved and changed over time, merging with the Hanshi Festival, or Cold Food Festival. The Hanshi Festival was originally celebrated to commemorate the story of Jie Zitui.
Jie Zitui served Duke Wen, who was exiled for 19 years. During this time, Jie Zitui fed Duke Wen when he faced starvation and cold. The duke promised to reward Jie Zitui one day, but forgot him for years after ascending to his dukedom. When Duke Wen finally remembered Jie Zitui, the duke tried to find him, but Jie Zitui perished in a forest fire before Duke Wen could reward him. The duke returned a year later to visit Jie Zitui’s grave and ordered that no fire be used for cooking on that day to honor his memory.
Honoring Our Ancestors by Learning Who They Are
Qingming Festival and its traditions remind us of where we came from and where we fit in our family’s history. We also honor our ancestors by learning more about them and sharing their stories with our children and other relatives. Opening doors to our family’s past can be a fun activity that all ages can enjoy.
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