Ching Ming Festival

---------Ching Ming

The rain flies heavily as Qingming draws,
move sadly along the way the passengers;
I wanna know where the tavern is,
He points at a distant hamlet nestling amidst apricot blossoms-----------


i went home this weekend for the special day --ching ming festival .
there are several english expressions about ching ming festival: Tomb-sweeping Day and Pure Brightness Day. of course i prefer the latter saying~ we sweep forefathers' tomb to respect forefathers~

it is always raining in these days and it's very cold, but people still pay much attention to the festival. not only because it's a national day , but also because we are the group who never forget our roots.

everybody has its own way to grieve. many people who is out will put down their work, slow their pace and back home. it's the virtue of our land to go home when old.

we visited our ancestors and relatives' tombs , carrying incense sticks, joss sticks and paper offerings like paper money and any other paper accessories as usual. all paper offerings were burnt for them . we believe that the relatives can receive the goods and even 'money' this way.

ching ming festival is a season of memory in china . are there similar festivals in other countries?