Qingming festival is Chinese remembrence day. On this day families will trek to the burial sites of loved relatives to sweep the tomb, set fresh flowers, and offer a gift- some set a glass of wine, others set bowls of oranges. The offering varies by region and local custom. To pay respects, pyres of old paper money are also lit , as well as firecrackers, at the base of the headstone. The paper money has no cash value today and would be  mistaken as funny money in some other countries.

Members of the Dai family remembered their family this Qingming festival. Monday afternoon, on the officially recognized holiday, the family trekked up the gentle hill through light forest to the cleared burial site with arm-loads of colorful foil stems, artificial flowers, drink- both alcohol and non-alcohol, stacks of paper money, firecrackers, and shovels. Other families had already decorated many of the tombs earlier in the day and over the weekend- a wise decision since the sun and temperatures were high. Mr. Dai, and some relatives, purchased a hillside plot of land and set it aside as the final resting place for their loved ones- 10,000 RMB for 1亩 (mu). Mu is the Chinese word for acre (666.66 sq. meters). By setting aside a burial hillside, the Dai family’s final resting place will be protected from development by China’s central government.

The family set to clearing fallen tree branches and pulling weeds and undergrowth that had grown up since the last visit upon arrival. This is the sweeping of the tombs which the holiday gets it’s unofficial translated name from.  After the tombs were cleared, children set color stems of foil paper and artificial flowers while the adults began burning stacks of paper and pouring wine at the base of the headstones. Each family member took a moment to kneel and bow three times in front of their deceased relative’s tomb. The children, later, were also given paper money to offer onto the ritual pyre. Fireworks were lit from the embers of each burning stack of paper at the end of the ritual.

Qingming festival is celebrated 15 days after the vernal equinox- the first day of Spring. Since the official holiday may fall during the week some families celebrate the holiday during the weekend before or after Qingming holiday. According to one website, Qingming can be celebrated within 2 weeks prior to after the 15th day of Spring.