Qing Ming Jie

Nationality: Taiwanese American
Age: 53
Occupation: Engineer
Residence: San Marino, CA
Performance Date: 3/30/18
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin (Chinese)

Interview:

“Every year once a year, visit the graveyard of my grandparents.”

So was it like holiday kind of thing?

“Yeah, it was called qing ming jie.  Was for grandma, because grandma died really young.  We would visit and clean the graveyard, and do the incense, and at home we would pray and burn paper money.”

 

Background:

The holiday qing ming jie is a festival known as tomb-sweeping day.  Traditionally taking place on as the 15th day after the spring equinox.  Paper money is often burned to provide the deceased with the ability to be prosperous in the afterlife.   There is an incredible emphasis on the importance of family and ancestors in Taiwanese culture.

Analysis:

This reminds me similarly of countries like Japan who would do similar tasks to pay respects to their ancestors.  Sweeping the grave and leaving flowers were some of the tasks that were carried out.