EARLY QING MING

The two nuns conducting the prayer ceremony

These two Nepalese Llamas were also conducting a prayer ceremony for some departed souls at the columbarium of the Paradise Memorial Park.

My aunt, sisiter, brother-in-law and two nephews look on as the nuns conduct the prayer ceremony.  I stepped out of the line for a while to snap the pictures.

The Qingming Festival ( 清明节) or All Souls' Day falls on April 5th every year except for leap years when the festival falls on April 4th.  This is the time when the Chinese go and pay homage to their dead ancestors by tending to the graves.  Qing Ming or Ching Beng (in the Hokkien dialect) can be done 10 days before and after the actual day when souls of the departed leave the underworld and enter this worldly realm to accept offerings from their living relatives.

This year my family and I had to go pay our respects to my late parents earlier than the 10 days before period as my mum passed away in June last year.  According to Chinese tradition, Qingming for the first year  of a deceased has to be done earlier.

This year my brother-in-law, Michael and I did all the planning.  Why?  This is because my Aunt Linda, sister  Li Mei and her two sons, Jeremy and Benjamin are all Christians. Michael is a Buddhist and I am a Taoist.  That is why.  As I am the eldest daughter, I chose the date, made bookings with the nunnery to get the nuns for the prayer ceremony and also bought all the prayer items and food.  Michael got everyone to come for the ceremony and also helped get the flowers and lotus candles.

To me the prayers by the nuns were more important than the offerings of food and prayer paraphernalia as they were food for my parents' souls.  I also registered for a special Qing Ming prayer ceremony held at the Temple on 7th April for my parents.  If I have time to go for the prayers, I will blog about it and share pictures with you.