Qing Ming Jie

Qing Ming Jie Festival (Clear and Bright Festival) is celebrated on the 12th day of the 3rd lunar month (around April 4th or 5th). This is a day set aside for families to remember their ancestors. It is a fundamental belief for the people to pay respect to their ancestors. On the day of Qingming Festival, people will go to the graveyard and clean the graves of their ancestors and mourn those who have died.

At the grave site, weeds are pulled and dirt is swept away. Families will often burn offerings and spirit money at the graves to help their family in the “afterlife.” This day is especially important because the Chinese people think of dead things and graveyards as unclean, so to avoid having bad luck, they do not go to graveyards. Qingming Festival and Chongyang Festival in the fall are the only days that they will enter a graveyard.

This day also marks the beginning of the planting season. Families will go to the countryside and have a picnic on this day. The people will play games and fly kites. Their kites come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors. You will see designs representing butterflies, bats, frogs, dragons, and many other animals.