Ching Ming - Visit To My Grandfather’s Grave
Ching Ming is an event when Chinese folks visit the burial grounds of their family members who had passed away. In olden times, people are buried in graveyard that were poorly maintained. So the annual event was necessary to return to the burial grounds to tidy up the grave, visit and remember the ancestor and to pay respect to them as a sign of filial piety.
These practices has been passed down in generations irrespective of which dialect group you belong. Interestingly, this event can also be a point of contention between family members. Sometimes a good event to commemorate the ancestors can turn ugly because descendants would like to “up one” on others, to show off that they are the most filial descendant. This is usually because the descendants cannot get along well with each other. I think it is also because man is full of pride and this is one event which people can easily “show off”.
My grandfather passed away last year and this year was the first Ching Ming for him. Apparently, for the 1st Ching Ming, it has to be done before the actual days for Ching Ming. Subsequent years, the visitation can be done anytime during Ching Ming.
From the video you can see that nowadays, graveyard is being maintained by highly qualified professions. You can choose to buy the plot based on your budget up to arranging for the full funeral service. The service is so good that its almost like checking into a 5-star hotel with your own concierge, even after your death, the company will take care of your grave and keep it spick-and-span! This makes cleaning and tidying up the grave obsolete so, what remains is to pay respect and remember our loved ones.
This is really in contrast with the old graveyards in Penang. The graveyard in Penang island really look grave. Lalang is over grown and occasionally, the caretaker will just burn the grass down. This will give the graveyard a scorched look. On other days, with the unkept lalang and bushes, it is a fine place to film horror movies.
Anyway, I suppose with impeccable service, clean and pleasant environment makes professionally managed graveyard the way forward. Their service will ease the pain of mourners and make visitation a more pleasant experience.
2 Responses to “Ching Ming - Visit To My Grandfather’s Grave”
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A very good sharing of your experience…Ching Ming is just an annual family outting for me and I have never thought of the process is like checking into a 5 stars hotel nowadays
Yeah now days getting a grave site is like investing in a piece of real estate. Big companies like NV Multi really give you first class service service.