Author Archives: Ruochong Zhang

Tomb Sweeping and Ancestor Offerings

Speaker: “Yes, so when we talk about tomb sweeping, it is really about remembering our ancestors and expressing our grief and respect for them. When people go to visit the graves, they usually bring offerings like fruit or other food. But more importantly, they often bring things that the person liked when they were alive. For example, if that elder used to smoke, we might bring a pack of cigarettes, sometimes even a good one, and light one there for them.

If the person liked to drink, we might bring alcohol, like Maotai, pour a cup, and offer it after kneeling and burning incense. So besides the more general offerings, like incense and paper money, there are also these more personal things.

Burning paper money is very common. The idea is that you are sending money to them so they can use it in the afterlife. People sometimes say that elders in the past had very hard lives and did not have much money, so now we burn more for them, to make sure they have enough. There are also more specific offerings depending on the person. It really depends on what that elder liked. The younger generation will prepare things based on that, so every family’s practice can be a little different.

Another important thing about tomb sweeping is that it is not just about the ritual itself. It is also a kind of family tradition that gets passed down through generations. Usually, the whole family goes together, including older people, middle-aged adults, and children. The reason is that it is also a way of teaching younger people. It helps them learn respect for their ancestors and understand family values. When we were young, we went with our parents, and when we grow up, we continue the same practice. So this tradition has been passed down for thousands of years. It is not just about remembering the dead, but also about family education, values, and maintaining a sense of continuity within the family.”

Interviewer: “So it is not just a ritual, but also something educational?” Speaker: “Yes, exactly. It is a way for younger generations to learn. By participating, they understand what it means to respect elders and carry on family traditions.” Context: This conversation took place during an informal interview about traditional Chinese customs related to ancestor worship. The speaker described the practice of tomb sweeping, including bringing offerings such as food, cigarettes, and alcohol that reflect the personal preferences of the deceased. He also emphasized the importance of burning incense and paper money, as well as the role of tomb sweeping as a family activity that involves multiple generations.

Analysis: Tomb sweeping, often associated with Qingming Festival, is both a ritual practice and a form of cultural transmission. The offerings reflect a belief that the needs and preferences of the deceased continue into the afterlife, while the act of burning paper money symbolizes providing for them materially. At the same time, the practice serves as an important educational moment within families. By involving children and younger generations, tomb sweeping reinforces values such as filial piety, respect for elders, and continuity across generations. This dual role, as both ritual and teaching practice, helps explain why the tradition has remained strong over such a long period of time.

Lunar New Year Visiting Tradition in Shanghai

Age: 21

Speaker: “So in Shanghai, during the Lunar New Year, there is this custom where the whole family takes turns visiting different relatives. Usually, the family decides whether to follow the father’s side or the mother’s side for that year. For example, on my mom’s side, my grandmother has several siblings, maybe four who are still around, and everyone stays in touch. Before the New Year, they will coordinate and decide the schedule.

On the first day of the New Year, everyone usually goes to the oldest elder’s home. In my case, that would be my grandmother, since she is the eldest in her generation. Then on the second day, people go to the next person in order of seniority, like maybe my great-uncle. And after that, it just continues, going from one household to another. So it is kind of like each day there is a big family gathering hosted by a different relative. And whoever is hosting that day has to prepare everything themselves. You are not supposed to just go out to eat at a restaurant. You have to cook at home and make a full table of dishes, a really big spread with all kinds of food.

It is not just about eating, either. If dinner is in the evening, people usually start arriving around noon. Everyone just hangs out together, chatting, sometimes playing mahjong, and doing different activities. It usually goes on like this for several days during the New Year. Interviewer: “Are there any specific foods that are important or traditional?” Speaker: “Yeah, definitely. One thing I remember clearly is that there always has to be a fish, because it represents ‘surplus every year.’ That meaning is really important. For soups, a more traditional Shanghai-style one would have napa cabbage, egg dumplings, glass noodles, and tofu skin rolls, sometimes with a bit of cured meat. It is kind of like a big mixed pot with a lot of ingredients.

For cold dishes, you might have things like marinated jellyfish or white-cut chicken. And for hot dishes, there is usually a wide variety of meats. You will see pork, beef, and all kinds of dishes, basically everything you can think of. There are always a lot of different plates on the table. So overall, it is really about having a full, abundant meal and spending time together as a family.” Interviewer: “So it lasts for several days?” Speaker: “Yeah, it usually goes on for a few days like that, visiting different relatives and gathering together.”

Context: This conversation took place during an informal interview about Lunar New Year customs in different regions of China. The speaker described a common practice in Shanghai in which extended family members organize a rotating schedule of visits, with each household hosting a large meal. He emphasized both the importance of hierarchy, such as visiting the eldest relative first, and the expectation that each host prepares an elaborate home-cooked feast.

Analysis: This account highlights how Lunar New Year functions as both a ritual and a social structure for maintaining extended family relationships. The rotating hosting system reinforces generational hierarchy while ensuring that responsibility is shared among relatives. Food plays a central symbolic role, especially dishes like fish that carry meanings of prosperity and abundance. At the same time, the gatherings are not limited to eating, but also include social interaction, games, and conversation, emphasizing the importance of togetherness. The multi-day nature of the visits reflects the broader cultural value placed on family continuity and collective celebration during the New Year period.

Shooting the Drum (Miao Courtship Custom)

Speaker: “This is a custom from a Miao(Hmong) village in Guizhou. It is called ‘shooting the drum.’ Yeah, shooting the drum. It is a pretty interesting one. From what I heard, the way people talk about it now is almost like a legend. It existed in real life in the past, but nowadays no one really practices it anymore. People say that back then, someone would use a stick in a very skillful way, almost like performing magic, to ‘shoot’ or strike the drum in a special way. It is one of those traditional customs that has been passed down in the local Miao community over time. Back in those days, people were very poor, you know, so life was quite different. Because of that, some of these customs were tied to relationships and marriage in ways that might feel unusual now. The story goes that after this kind of ritual or interaction, the couple might be brought back to the home, and then their relationship would basically be settled from there. It was not something easy to walk away from once it happened. People sometimes describe it in a joking way now, comparing it to something like being carried along by the situation, like once you are in it, you cannot really back out. But that is more how people talk about it today rather than how it was formally understood back then.”

Interviewer: “So is it more like a legend now than a real practice?”

Speaker: “Yeah, pretty much. It is something people talk about as part of history or folklore now. Not many people actually know how to do it anymore, and it is not really practiced today.”

Context: This conversation took place during an informal discussion about regional customs and lesser-known traditions in ethnic minority communities in China. The speaker introduced “shooting the drum” as a Miao custom from Guizhou, describing it as something that once existed but is now mostly remembered through stories and informal explanations. His description mixed fragments of historical practice with more modern interpretations and humor.

Analysis: This folklore practice reflects how certain traditional practices, especially those tied to courtship or community rituals, can fade over time and become more like folklore than lived reality. The speaker’s uncertainty and casual tone suggest that knowledge of the custom is no longer widely preserved in detail. Instead, it survives in fragments part storytelling. The mention of poverty and social conditions also hints at how older folklore were shaped by economic and social constraints and evolved by time.

Junpo Festival in Hainan province, China

Speaker: “Well, um, I do not really know all the details about it, like exactly what the festival is for. You could probably look it up online though. If you search for Hainan’s Junpo Festival, you should be able to find it. I think it also has another name, but I cannot remember what it is right now. I can ask later and tell you.

Those festivals are considered a big part of the local culture and traditions. Of course, things like the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month and the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month are celebrated every year by every family, but in Hainan they celebrate them in a much livelier way.

The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is Zhongyuan Festival, for ancestor worship. That part does not really need much explanation because people everywhere do ancestor worship. But over there, it is much more lively than what we do in Sichuan. They bring whole chickens, ducks, and geese, all of them whole, and sometimes one or two bamboo baskets full of offerings to the graves. I remember finding that pretty striking. Where we are from, it does not feel nearly that elaborate.

As for other smaller festivals, I can ask one of my former coworkers later and see if he can tell me more. In Sichuan, it feels like we do not really have that many especially distinctive local customs, at least none that come to mind right away. Maybe places that are closer to ethnic minority regions have more unique traditions.

Context: This conversation took place in an informal interview setting about regional folk customs and festivals. The speaker is originally from Sichuan but had spent time in Hainan and was comparing the customs of the two places. While she did not know every detail about the Junpo Festival herself, she immediately identified it as one of the most distinctive folk traditions in Hainan. Throughout the conversation, she emphasized that Hainan celebrations, especially those related to ancestor worship and seasonal festivals, are much more elaborate and lively than those in Sichuan.

Analysis: This folklore highlights the importance of regional identity in Chinese folk traditions. Although many traditional festivals, such as Zhongyuan Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, are celebrated across China, the speaker emphasizes that the way these festivals are practiced differs significantly from place to place. In her description, Hainan stands out as especially festive and elaborate, particularly in the context of ancestor worship, where families bring large amounts of food and offerings to gravesites. The Junpo Festival is presented as a distinctly local tradition that symbolizes Hainan’s cultural uniqueness. At the same time, the speaker’s uncertainty about some details reflects how folk traditions are often remembered informally, through conversation and personal experience, rather than through formal historical knowledge.

Cuban New Year Traditions: Grapes, Water, and Roasted Pig

“So my dad’s thing, his folklore I guess, is that on New Year’s you eat 12 grapes, one for each month of the coming year. Each grape is basically a wish, a month of good luck. And then you fill up pots and pans with water and you throw the water out to get rid of all the bad luck from the year before. And you bang the pots together to scare away any bad energy, bad mojo. That’s his Cuban heritage, that’s where all of that comes from.

And then more generally, for any big holiday, it’s just about getting the whole extended family together. Like everyone comes. And the food is a huge part of it. The main thing you’re always going to have is roasted pig, and then black beans, rice, and fried plantains. It’s not a gathering without those. The food is really the center of everything, honestly. That’s just how those family holidays work.”

Context: This is from my friend whose father is Cuban. The informant was relaxed and a little giggly about it, clearly fond of these memories. It’s about the specific rituals their family does on New Year’s Eve, and then more broadly the way big family holidays just always look a certain way, same food every time, same people crowded around the same table. Someone in the room kept kicking them partway through, which did not help.

Analysis: The way he describes it shows that he is not quite sure what category it belongs in. But that slight distance actually makes it more interesting, because it shows how folk traditions get transmitted within families without ever being formally taught. Nobody sat this person down and explained the symbolism of the grapes or the water. They just grew up watching it happen, and now they know it.

The grape-eating and pot rituals are recognizable from Cuban and broader Latin American New Year’s tradition, but what stands out here is less the rituals themselves and more the fact that they’ve survived the distance of immigration intact, still tied to a specific identity, still understood as distinctly Cuban even several generations in. Throwing water out to expel bad luck, banging pots to scare off evil, these are physical, almost theatrical acts, and that probably has something to do with why they stick. They’re hard to forget once you’ve seen them.

The food side of things is doing something a little different. Roasted pig, black beans, rice, plantains showing up at every single holiday isn’t really about any one occasion. It’s more like a recurring proof of belonging. The meal is the same because the family is the same, and making it together, eating it together, is how that continuity gets felt rather than just assumed.

This entry was posted in Calendar Custom, Festival, Food, Family Folklore and tagged Cuban heritage, New Year’s, grapes, luck, roasted pig, family gathering, Latin American tradition on 0420.