Learn all about Ching Ming Festival
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| Hello, and welcome to the Culture Class- Holidays in Hong Kong Series at CantoneseClass101.com. In this series, we’re exploring the traditions behind holidays and observances in Hong Kong. I’m Eric, and you're listening to Season 1, Lesson 14. Ching Ming Festival or 清明節 in Cantonese. |
| In Hong Kong, April 4, 5 or 6 is set as the Ching Ming Festival. It’s a public holiday or 公眾假期. The traditional activities of the Ching Ming Festival are to visit, clean, and pay respects at ancestors' graves, or 掃墓 in Cantonese. Therefore, you can see people carrying out filial piety by burning incense, weeding, and burning joss money and paper-mâché offerings or 紙紮祭品 in front of the tombstones. |
| Now, before we get into more detail, I've got a question for you- Do you know what kind of flower, or 花, you should take to a graveyard? |
| If you don't already know, you’ll find out a bit later, so keep listening! |
| Spring or 春天 starts around the time the Ching Ming festival is held, so some families take the opportunity to go on a hike and get some fresh air. Some families visit the ancestors' graves a few days or even weeks earlier to avoid the crowds, so generally speaking the customs are not limited to Ching Ming Day only. |
| People in Hong Kong burn paper-mâché models in the shape of daily-use items during the day. The offerings can be anything from fancy cars, to villas, servants, yachts, game consoles, mobile phones, pets, and so on. Descendants send these items to their ancestors in the underworld by burning them, hoping that the ancestors will have an affluent lifestyle in the afterlife. Everything that we use comes in a paper-mâché version for the deceased. |
| There is another common phenomenon on Ching Ming Festival. That’s wildfire, or 山火 in Cantonese. While paying respect to the deceased, some people accidentally leave the fire burning, or don’t use metal buckets to burn joss money and products. This sometimes leads to wildfires in Hong Kong. To avoid this happening, the government has enacted laws to regulate burning rituals and raise the public's awareness of fire safety. |
| Now it's time to answer our quiz question- Do you know what kind of flower, or 花, you should take to a graveyard? |
| The most common flower used to pay respect to the deceased is chrysanthemum, or 菊花. This is because the chrysanthemum represents yearning and longing, especially the white chrysanthemum, which is used in memorial ceremonies. |
| How was this lesson? Did you learn anything interesting? |
| How do people commemorate their ancestors in your country? |
| Leave us a comment at CantoneseClass101.com |
| We'll see you next time! |
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