This week, I walked around campus taking pictures of the various flowering trees. I don’t know anything about plants, so I’m pretty useless when it comes to identifying these beauties, but I’ll do my best.
The yellow trees are called “Golden Spring.” This is because they are so common in the spring time and as you can see from some of the photos, they are indeed a prolifically planted tree.
The white blossoms are peach blossoms! They are so incredibly beautiful and now that the petals are falling off, it seems that spring is giving us a gentle snowfall . . . a much nicer snowfall than those that come in the wintertime. (And speaking of snow, wouldn’t you know that the day I took these pictures had snow flurries in the evening! Winter had to go out with a last hurrah!)
I don’t know what the pink flowers are, but they are just now going from bud to bloom stage. They are even more beautiful in real life than on the printed page.
New life abounds everywhere! However, one part of the celebration of new life is a remembrance of those who have died. April 4 is “Qing Ming Jie,” the “Clear and Brightness” Festival. Qing Ming Jie is a traditional Chinese festival that honors one’s ancestors. It is based on the solar calendar as opposed to the lunar calendar and is two weeks after spring equinox. It usually falls on April 4, 5 or 6.
Qing Ming Jie is sort of an unofficial “welcome spring” day. Remember, Chinese New Year is literally called “Spring Festival” so Qing Ming Jie heralds the actual arrival of spring. Longer days are well noted and the planting season begins.
This year marks a return for workers and schools to have Qing Ming Jie off as a holiday. This is partially to give credence to the more traditional festivals of China that seem to be disappearing with the onset of modern development. Additionally, the May 1st holiday week has been shortened in order to spread days off throughout the year. However, the Qing Ming season is about ten days before and ten days after the date.
Our part of the country is still fairly traditional in many ways. I talked to a taxi driver today (April 3) and he said that he expects to be busy tomorrow and throughout the weekend. Families typically visit the graves of their family members and have a number of traditional activities. The grave is swept and cleaned (the day is often called “Tomb Sweeping Day”) and flowers and foods are left for the ancestors. “Spirit” money is burned (fake money) to appease their ancestors into caring for the family for another year. One student described his visit to his ancestors’ grave last week as a time to “worship, provide food and tell the ancestors everything that has happened in the past year.” Interesting concept.
I think the closest American equivalent to this day would be Memorial Day.
Disclaimer: I’m not an expert on Chinese culture so my understanding of the day may not be quite right. However, I think this gives a somewhat accurate depiction.
