Qing1 ming2 jie2 or Tomb Sweeping Day is a three-day spring holiday "celebrated" in China and is a nationally-recognized time of mourning and remembrance. Children got the day off from school and the Ministry of Civil Affairs estimated 460 million people visited graveyards and memorial parks of their ancestors this year.Traditionally, families would bring a whole rooster with them to the gravesite, however it is more common now to burn pretend, paper money or other paper replicas of other luxury items--from houses and cars to Louis Vuitton bags--as gifts for them to enjoy in their afterlife.
While this tradition has been around for a long time, the article I'm attaching shows the greyer side of this holiday: the risks associated with masses of people burning paper money. Two were killed and another seriously injured in a fire on Hushan Mountain at 2 p.m. that caught the wind and got out of control. Another group of mourners caused a second fire at 3 p.m.
As Huangyuan Zhiding tweeted/twittered(?) in response: "Think about the amount of paper burnt wastefully each year, the foul air we are breathing and the lives taken by the fire. Culture is no excuse to keep the ugly tradition."
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2011-04/05/content_12274953.htm
ReplyDeleteAnother tradition linked to the celebration of "Tomb sweeping day" is the making of "Huamo" in the Shanxi province in northern China. "Huamo" or "flower bun" are made of flour, water and leavening agent that is steamed. Women create multiple sizes and shapes of huamo, some of which may weigh more than 10kg!
The different buns are made for different purpose. For example: fish shaped huamo are presented to the daughters of the family who had just married the previous year. Because they are colorful they are also used as toys before being eaten.
Today, huamo makers want to spice up the tradition and create the biggest huamo to enter the Guiness World Record. Using 5 tons of wheat flower and 2 tons of flower, the inhabitant of a county made pagodas, the highest being close to 3 meters tall. They didn't mention the indigestion that ensued!
Here are colorful pictures "huamo"!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.chinastations.com/2010/01/1_hello-world/