Qingming Festival (also known as Pure Brightness Festival or Tomb-sweeping Day) is a Chinese festival which celebrates the beginning of the rising temperatures and increased rainfall synonymous with spring. The festival indicates the beginning of the season for agriculture, as the climate becomes better for ploughing and sowing seeds. However, the festival also has a symbolic affiliation with the paying of respects to the deceased, amongst others.
Qingming Festival is a time of many different activities, among which are tomb sweeping, spring walks and flying kites. Whilst some customs such as wearing willow branches on your head or swinging on swings have generally past into the forgotten realms of Chinese antiquity, new traditions have emerged, such as travelling. Whilst Qingming Festival tends to be more of a local family holiday and not usually an occasion to travel further than your mum’s sofa, China’s outbound travel market has remained strong for all holidays, with many Chinese opting for a Japanese sojourn instead of more traditional fare.
In any case, the annual Qingming festivities bring Chinese across the globe out in droves, and if last year is anything to go by, it’ll be a busy one!
Enjoyed this article? Then these may also be of interest to you.
“Xin Nian Kuai Le” to all of our friends this Chinese New Year!