Shanghai DOBY Qingming Festival Notice

Qingming Festival, also called Tomb Sweeping Day or Pure Brightness in English, usually falls on April 4 or 5. Qingming (清明) is the second of 24 solar terms on the traditional Chinese solar calendar. It is also a time for people to go outside and start enjoying the greenery of spring.

In 2020, the Qingming Festival falls on April 4. The public holiday in China is April 4, 2020.
Qingming Festival Facts

Chinese: 清明节 Qīngmíng jié / ching-ming jyeah/ 'Pure Bright Festival'

Date: April 4 or 5 (start of Qingming, solar term 2)

Importance: an important day for showing respect to/worshiping ancestors

Celebrations: tomb sweeping and upkeep, food/drink offerings, fire crackers

History: over 2,500 years

How Do Chinese Celebrate the Qingming Festival?

There are various activities for Qingming Festival. The most popular ones such as tomb upkeep and repair, spring outings, kite flying, and putting willow branches on gates have been an important part of this festival since the beginning.

People often participate in a sport to ward off the cold and in anticipation of the arrival of spring. The festival integrates both reverence and fun through its customs.

Tomb Sweeping — the Most Important Custom of Qingming Festival

People commemorate and show respect to their ancestors by visiting their graves, offering food, tea or wine, burning incense, burning or offering joss paper (representing money), etc. They sweep the tombs, remove weeds, and add fresh soil to the graves. They might stick willow branches, flowers, or plastic plants on the tomb.

They pray before their ancestors' graves and beseech them to bless their families. However, the custom has been greatly simplified today, especially in cities, where many people only put flowers to the dead relatives.

Putting Willow Branches on Gates

During the Qingming Festival, some people wear soft willow branches and place the branches on gates and front doors. People believe that this custom will ward off wandering evil spirits during Qingming.

That willows are considered magical is mainly a Buddhist influence. Traditional pictures of the Goddess of Mercy Guanyin often show her seated on a rock with a willow branch in a vase of water at her side. The goddess used this mysterious water and branch to scare away demons.

According to historical records, there is an old saying: "Put willow branches up on gates; drive ghosts away from houses."

Spring Outing

Qingming is also called Taqing Festival. Taqing (踏青 /taa-ching/ 'tread green') means a spring outing, when people get out and enjoy the spring blossoms.

The festival usually falls on a day not long before everything turns green in the north, and well into the spring flower season in the south.

It marks the beginning of the season when people spend more time outside as the weather warms up.

Kite Flying

Flying kites is also an important custom enjoyed by many people, young and old, during the Qingming Festival. The uniqueness of kite flying during the Qingming Festival lies in that kites are not only flown during the day but also in the evening.