Ching Ming: Tomb Sweeping Day

It is almost upon us again... With spring comes Ching Ming; Grave Sweeping Day in the Chinese cultural tradition. Usually falling in early April, Ching Ming is a time when families gather, often very early in the morning, and travel to the graves of their ancestors to honor and remember them.

Scrubbing an ancestor's grave stone on Ching Ming. Photo from the wonderful blog,

The Human Flower Project

The graves are swept and cleaned, incense and paper objects are burned, and food and flowers are offered to the dead. The belief is that the food and paper objects are transported and transformed to meet the continuing needs of departed loved ones.

"Grandfather, you've got mail!"

Objects such as this paper laptop computer are burned in this world and can be used by grandfather in the next.

Honoring and remembering our ancestors

In honoring our ancestors with gifts of food and flowers, we demonstrate that they are still important to us, just as we hope that our children will, in turn, remember us.

This paper lunch is probably more nutritious than the real thing, even after incineration

This custom may seem to be old fashioned superstition, and I'm sure that more than a few participants in these rituals have doubts about the burnt objects passing on to their ancestors. Similarly, some participants at Christian rituals may doubt the transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Most, I'm sure, believe figuratively if not literally.

Ching Ming in Colma, outside San Francisco

While the efficacy of these rituals may be debatable, their importance and relevance is clear to see. Gathering to honor and remember ancestors is strengthening to the family unit, a positive step through grief, and a very precious opportunity to continue a relationship, whether grandmother actually gets any of the dumplings or not.

If we think that rituals like this are wasteful or naive, we should look again at how much we miss out by ending our conversations and expressions of love with our own departed.

Paper dental products for the dead

The loved ones we remember are people just like we are. Their form and needs may have changed to nothing, or something we cannot begin to comprehend, but for us, in our memories, they are still Ahmah, or Granny. They still like licorice, or noodles. They still have a sparkle in their eyes, and maybe talk funny when their dentures slip. These are the things we remember and celebrate and love. So it makes emotional sense for us to honor them in a way that reminds us of them. They may not need it, but we do.

Ching Ming and Filial Piety

Here are some wonderful and informative links for a greater understanding of Ching Ming. Enjoy!

SF Gate Article on Ching Ming

Ching Ming and Grief from This Precious Life Blog

A comprehensive article on Squidoo

A family shares their Ching Ming Experience

Insights and family humor regarding the Ching Ming Tradition!

Growing older, the importance of ritual is understood

Ching Ming, and some incredible graves

A great explanation of Ching Ming from The Human Flower Project

And here are a few links to related posts on this blog:

Funeral Rites in Chinatown

You Can Take it With You

San Zhr Ghost Town

Ghost Month

Floating Memories: A Ghost Month Tradition in America

Voices and Memories : Paul Haney, Voice of Mission Control, Dies at 80

http://www.nmspacemuseum.org/halloffame/images.php?image_id=119

Paul Haney

A voice can carry with it so much more than the message it's speaker wishes to convey. It brings with it memories and feelings, and images of places and times. Whether they are melodious and easy on the ear, raspy or shrill, the voices of those we love are a sound that we enjoy more than any other.

When my father lay dying in his hospital room, many people came to visit him, and say their goodbyes, as he lay barely conscious during the last weeks. When my aunt, who has a very distinct nasal tone to her voice travelled across the country to see him, he knew her by her voice at once, opening his eyes and calling out her name. His memories, and love for her were inseparable from that voice that would never be on the nightly news, but would always be in his heart.

The tone, accent, and cadence of a voice can frame and qualify the message it delivers, it can frighten or incite us. It can challenge us and inspire us. During the early years of the space program both the voice of mission control, and the information it shared was shaped by Paul Haney.

Here is an excerpt from Mr. Haney's New York Times Obituary by Kenneth Chang

Paul Haney, who was known as the voice of NASA’s mission control for his live commentary during the Gemini and Apollo space flights in the 1960s, died Thursday in Alamogordo, N.M. He was 80.It was Mr. Haney’s voice as director of public affairs that broadcast audiences heard live from the Houston control room, explaining what was going on. The calmness that the public heard from 1965 to 1969, as Mr. Haney announced tense events like launchings and difficult recoveries, contrasted with some behind-the scenes conflict.

Working as a newspaper reporter before and after his time at NASA, Mr. Haney pushed the space agency to share more information with reporters and often clashed with engineers and astronauts who sought to avoid disclosures that might be embarrassing.

“He believed it should all be open,” said Bill Johnson, who worked for Mr. Haney at NASA. “That was his conflict with the other branches of NASA. Eventually that was what got him fired.” That was only a few months before the historic moon landing.

Mr. Haney went to London, where he provided NASA commentary for the Independent Television News in Britain and wrote for The Economist. He also worked for newspapers in Houston, Charleston, S.C., and St. Petersburg, Fla.

for the full text, and more audio, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/science/space/02haney.html?_r=1&ref=obit...