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Chinese Qingming Festival

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Chinese Qingming Festival

2016-04-01 09:45:32
The Qingming or Ching Ming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day in English，is a traditional Chinese festival on the first day of the fifth solar term of the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. This makes it the 15th day after the Spring Equinox, either 4 or 5 April in a given year.Other common translations include Chinese Memorial Day and Ancestors' Day.

Qingming has been regularly observed as a statutory public holiday in China. In Taiwan, the public holiday is now always observed on 5 April to honor the death of Chiang Kai-shek on that day in 1975. It became a public holiday in mainland China in 2008.

In the mainland, the holiday is associated with the consumption of qingtuan, green dumplings made of glutinous rice and barley grass. In Taiwan, the similar confection is known as caozaiguo or shuchuguo.

A similar holiday is observed in the Ryukyu Islands, called Shīmī in the local language.

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 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 Inquiring, where can a wineshop be found?
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 Apricot Flower Village in the distance.