Qingming Festival

Also known as the Tomb Sweeping Festival, it is one of the festivals in the lunar calendar. As recorded in book《岁时百问》, everything grows clean and clear in this time, so it is called Qingming.

The traditional Chinese family has strong family values. In order to maintain the good traditions of the family, after the ancestor's death, he will still monitor the performance of his children and grandchildren in the lower realm. The descendants use prayers to report their achievements to their ancestors and the ancestors can bless future generations.

Order of worship ancestors:

Worship the land god first : request the land god to protect the safety of the ancestral tomb. It is commonly believed that the land god protects the safety of the tomb owner, so worshiping the land god is a very important thing in tomb sweeping. Followed by worshiping the Dragon God: Not many people worship the Dragon God and ask the Dragon God to bless the ancestral graves. Finally worship the ancestors: communicate with ancestors.

During the QingMing season, most Chinese in Singapore will travel with their families, relatives and friends in one or two small trucks for the tomb sweeping. Most of them will worship the gods of the land first. They offer wine, food, fruits and flowers in front of the relatives’ tombs. Light incense candles and burn the paper money, kowtow to salute. Finally they drink the wine and eat the food on the spot before going home.

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