清明節 Qing Ming Festival

It's the time of Qing Ming, the sky seemed to be very emotional, always becoming grey in the evening. It has been raining for the past few weeks, almost everyday. The atmosphere around is quiet and lifeless, and the air is cold and still. While you lie on the bed resting or sitting on the chair in the office under such settings without much awareness, sad past memories just take the chance sneaking into your mind silently. Unconsciously, they start to play with your mind, of slides of memories in and out, mixing up all your feelings. And all the lost beloved ones, those that were so close to you, and now have moved to the other world, you started to miss them, and gradually depression takes over everything...

This is the time of Qing Ming, where Chinese people go to cementary and visit their ancestors' tombs. It's part of Chinese traditional cultures, has nothing to do with religion at all, as ancestors plays a signicant role in our cultures. Respect, appreciation, love, contentment and a whole values are embedded in this occasion, and everything should be back to the root now, and never forget the root, our origin.

Went hometown this weekend, for this important event. Supposingly the real date is on this coming friday (4th of April), but since we can go to visit the cementary 10 days before or 10 days after, so my family had decided to do it this weekend. Woke up in the early morning as to avoid congestion, and after breakfast, we all departed to the cementary. Arrived at the hills where all the tombs are located, all over the hills. There were so many people, and it was a good sign, at least most of the Chinese people still remember of their roots and cultures, and not to be consumed so much by the influences of other cultures. Some were walking up, some were hiking, some were crawling up the hills, trying to get to their ancestors/beloved ones' tombs respectively. We have a few ones to visit, and since each located at different parts of the hills, so one by one, we visited and cleaned up the tombs. Put up some food (to share with them) and prayed (as to talk to them, if they can hear from the other side), then we burned some paper money (for them to use,if they can). After that we continued to move to the other tomb which located on the other side of the hill. The sun was shinning brightly, and the weather was sizzling hot, not for very long though. After we were done with the last tomb, the sky became dark, as it can feel the grief and sorrows deep inside everyone's heart...

The rain still continues, life still goes on, but certain things such as feelings stay on, and well, this is part of life...

清明時節雨紛紛,

路上行人欲斷魂;

借問酒家何處有,

牧童遙指杏花村。