Do you know the Qingming Festival?

The first day of the fifth solar period of the Chinese lunisolar calendar is the date of the Qingming Festival, a traditional event in Chinese culture. In the Gregorian calendar, the date is equivalent to the period between April 4 and 6, depending on the current year. Originating in the Tang dynasty (618-906 AD), the celebration of spring has both connotations of joy and mourning, and recognizes the reverence for ancestors, a significant element in Chinese culture.

During the festival, Chinese people flock to cemeteries to clean and decorate the graves of their relatives. It is a time to worship the dead. They also make offerings to their ancestors, burn incense and prepare picnics for family gatherings. The traditional food of the festival is qingtuan, a dumpling made from rice and vegetables whose color is reminiscent of jade. During the period, it is also common to place willow branches on doors, as they are known to ward off evil spirits that wander in during the festival.

The current importance of the date, which became a national holiday in 2008, is credited to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (685-762 AD). According to historical records, the wealthy in Chinese society began to hold excessive ceremonies of luxury and ostentation for their ancestors repeatedly throughout the year. As a way of curbing the practice, the emperor determined that such worship ceremonies could only be held once a year, during Qingming. As well as burning incense, the Chinese who take part in the celebrations also burn replicas of the dead's material possessions: paper money and representations of objects such as cars, houses, telephones and employees. According to tradition, the dead need their things in the afterlife so that they can continue to enjoy a prosperous life.