Yesterday was Qing Ming. In China, people visit the graves of departed family members, sweep the tombs and plant trees at the grave sites. They also celebrate by flying kites, singing and dancing. And they do this on Qing Ming day itself.
In Malaysia, people start visiting the graves of the dead 10 days before Qing Ming, and continue doing so until 10 days after Qing Ming. In Malaysia, there is no singing or dancing parties, neither are there kite-flying or planting of trees.
So, what do Malaysians do at Qing Ming? Well, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'm just going to be economical and post pictures instead.
An onslaught of incense and candle smoke greeted us upon our arrival.
Saw a family overcome with emotion.....must be their first Qing Ming.
Mini "planter-boxes" (sorry, don't know what they are called) were provided by the temple for devotees to sacrifice food and burn joss sticks to the dead.
Where are those people going, with joss sticks in hand?
Hmmm.....let's follow them.
Oh I see.....they are going upstairs to call the dead from the columburiams to come downstairs and eat the food they have brought.
A close-up look at the food....some brought beer, too!!
And.....if there's a prize for the most expensive offering, this family should get it. A roast pig!! Wow, the dead has better food than me....Lol..!!!
While the dead is munching away on the food, the living is taking a rest under the shade. My mother-in-law told me that the dead has finished eating when the joss stick has burned out.
And what is this?? A city council dumpster on fire??
On closer look, it is paper cars, paper money and paper clothes being sacrificed to the dead.
Some families wanted to make sure those offerings get delivered to their departed family, so they wrote their names and address on the boxes. Well, that was what they told me when I asked them about the yellow paper with Chinese writing on the boxes.
It was also a hey-day for the beggars who lined up the roads & pavements at Kwong Tong Cemetery. In anticipation of a good day, they came armed with huge, plastic containers (about 10" in diameter). They weren't disappointed as their bowls are filled to the brim with RM1 notes. I saw them bunching up the notes and stuffing them into their pockets to make room for more donations. Too bad I forgot to take a picture of them. It was hot and the smoke was getting into my eyes, and I was getting a bit grumpy. :(
