Qingming Festival 清明節

The Qingming Festival (s-Chinese: 清明节; t-Chinese: 清明節; pinyin: Qīngmíngjié), Clear Bright Festival, Ancestors Day or Tomb Sweeping Day is a traditional Chinese festival, usually occurring around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar . Astronomically it is also a solar term .Qingming has been regularly observed as a statutory public holiday in Taiwan and in the Chinese jurisdictions of Hong Kong . Its observance was reinstated as a public holiday in mainland China in 2008, after having been previously suppressed by the ruling Communist Party in 1949. The transcription of the term Qingming may appear in a number of different forms, some of which are: * Qingming * Qing Ming * Qing Ming Jie * Ching Ming (official in Hong Kong) * Ching Ming Chieh The holiday is known by a number names in the English language: * All Souls Day (not to be confused with the Roman Catholic holiday, All Souls Day, of the same name) * Clear Bright Festival * Ancestors Day * Festival for Tending Graves * Grave Sweeping Day * Chinese Memorial Day * Tomb Sweeping Day * Spring Remembrance

Qingming was frequently mentioned in Chinese literature. Among these, the most famous one is probably Du Mu’s poem (simply titled “Qingming”):

Traditional Chinese	Simplified Chinese	pinyin	English translation
清明時節雨紛紛	清明时节雨纷纷	qīng míng shí jié yǔ fēn fēn	A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day;
路上行人欲斷魂	路上行人欲断魂	lù shàng xíng rén yù duàn hún	The mourner’s heart is breaking on his way.
借問酒家何處有	借问酒家何处有	jiè wèn jiǔ jiā hé chù yǒu	Where can a winehouse be found to drown his sadness?
牧童遙指杏花村	牧童遥指杏花村	mù tóng yáo zhǐ xìng huā cūn	A cowherd points to Almond Flower (Xing Hua) Village in the distance.