ching ming - grave sweeping festival

ching, in chinese, means pure or clean and ming means brightness. most people call this holiday grave-sweeping day because people head to the cemetery to clean graves.

there are many ching ming rituals which include pulling out weeds around the headstone, cleaning the stone and replacing wilted flowers with fresh ones. people also burn incense and paper money. the paper money is for the deceased to use in the afterlife. some place colourful strips of paper on the mound. food is arranged on the headstone but it's not a picnic. the food is an offering to the spirits.

every year, at around this time, my siblings and i will descend upon our father's grave off sime road to pay our respect and to remember him. my mother does not go with us these days because she is not so mobile. we usually try and make it on a sunday but this year we chose to go on a public holiday - good friday. it seemed a lot of other people had the same idea.

i once suggested to my mother - why don't we make the visit in the evening? it would not be so crowded and the weather would be kinder. she vetoed the idea saying it was going against tradition.

ching ming is one of the few instances in a year when we get together as one extended family. it is not just a time for remembrance but also a time for the living to catch up and bond. we come from our respective homes in different parts of singapore and meet at the cemetery along khiam hock road.