Tomb Sweeping Day

First, does this guy look like a guy who wanted to spend Sunday afternoon of a busy week climbing up a mountain to see a Buddhist cemetery?  I didn't think so either.  But he did go with me.

We have been to this cemetery several times.  10 years ago it was just a muddy little trail up to the cemetery, but now there is a big granite stairway up to it with a huge new Buddhist retreat center complex butted up against it. 

The retreat center looks awesome but the cemetery is a mess with garbage, broken bottles and vandalism.

 The first weekend in April is Tomb Sweeping Day, which is like our Memorial Day.  On this weekend relatives gather to sweep the graves of debris and to gather as a family.  Chinese believe in ancestor veneration so they also burn paper gifts, like paper money and leave gifts of food for their ancestors to use in their afterlife.  I so wanted to see this in person, but we didn't make it on the day. But I still wanted to see if the graves really got cleaned up.  Not so much.

Some were cleaned up and gifts were left others weren't swept.  Overall it was a mess. I didn't take a lot of photos of the mess.  It seemed disrespectful.  I didn't see any other cemeteries, I am sure others were in better shape.  It did make me sad on a few levels.

I think most people in China are cremated within a day or two of their death.  I don't know this for sure, but this cemetery seemed to be for cremains.  David said he's been told that is good Feng Shui to be buried on a mountain.  Isn't it just like Dave to know that? This grave was close to the path and in good shape.  Check out the red number at the top of the stone.  It looked like the "cemetery association" numbered the graves recently.  We had never noticed it before.  It seemed like the new numbers were on the randomly scattered graves.

The bags in the trees surrounding the graves are gifts for the afterlife.

These bricks come in handy for incense and candles.  I don't know, maybe firecrackers??? Our younger generation friends that we had dinner with on Saturday night all spoke of what a special time it is to be able to meet with relatives for this holiday.

Thanks for going with me David.  You know you loved it.