April 5th is Qingming Festival.
For Malaysian Chinese, Tomb-sweeping Day is an important day. Everyone used to return to their hometowns before or on the same day to worship at their ancestors’ graves.
Every year, Tomb-sweeping Day falls on April 4th, 5th, or 6th, according to the solar calendar. The 15th day after the spring equinox, or the 108th day after the winter solstice, is when the Qingming Festival is held. In 2022, the Ching Ming Festival will be held on April 5th (Tuesday).
Since April, our country has been in an endemic transformation satge. The government has also liberalised all economic operations, allowing citizens to move freely. This year’s Qingming Festival is very lively compared to the previous two years.
The Cold Food Festival and the Double Third Festival were ancient days that were comparable to the Qingming Festival. These two celebrations took place in the first ten days of the lunar calendar’s third month. People later combined these two festivities, resulting in the Qingming Festival. The Qingming Festival contains a number of traditions, including sacrificial sweeping, outings, swinging, Cuju, and so on. In Malaysia, however, the only custom is to sweep tombs during the Qingming Festival.
When cleaning graves during the Qingming Festival, there are many taboos, like not taking pictures in the cemetery, not laughing and scolding, disparaging ancestors, and peeing anywhere.
Furthermore, sweeping other people’s graves is discouraged. When climbing the mountain, pregnant women should be cautious and avoid wearing bright red or purple clothing. They should wash and wash their garments after sweeping the tombs.
