Hello from 2024!!! Long time no write stories le. ccfong.com had been down and disappeared for a while (?few years). Recently due to complaints and scoldings from you all, I decided to restart this ccfong.com again. Hope you all continue to enjoy reading stories..
As this piece of story is written after so long break, my command of english explanation may be terrible. Hehe
Today lets touch on Qing Ming topic. This story is written in the aircraft.
Qing Ming always fall on either 4th or 5th April every year. Why is there such a festival? This can be traced back to many many many many thousands years ago got one nobleman ah – He accompanied a prince (that was kenna thrown away to don’t know where and landed in a forest) in his exile. Due to lack of food and the health of the prince was weakening, the nobleman cut part of his body as meat and boiled soup (Yucks) and let the prince drink. Then the prince don’t know how gotten back his power and rule the world. Then he remembered this nobleman but however at that time, this man retired and lived with his mother in a forest and then there was no whatsapp. So this prince became a smart Alex (like ccfong) and burned down the whole forest just to let this nobleman surface out from the forest. Very kayu… the nobleman and his mother kenna burned to death….. And then the prince oreder that on every anniversary there is always this thanksgiving service to the nobleman and there should be no burning of stuff. (For more clarity on this story, please go other place read up cos this is of no importance in this story) Thanks for reading until here so far.
Then don’t know how and why, this thanksgiving service with no burning of stuff pass down to now prayers to ancestors with burning of hell notes.
Qing Ming now known to us in this era symbolizes good harvest in spring time and thanksgiving to the ancestors who grew the seed for us and as such, we are enjoying the fruits of their hardwork back then.
So like this say hor – Unlike Hungry Ghost festival, Qing Ming festival is actually not a Yin period even though it might involved spirits (deceased ancestors). It is a celebration of good heath and good harvest – wealth. Because we happy life, we also want our deceased beloved ancestors have a happy life too in the other world. We live in physical world with physical bodies and we presume things we enjoy having is equals to (same same with) those in the other world.
From my size, I love to eat (until soooooo fat) so I presume my grandparents also love to eat. Errrr… I vegetarian but they were not when they were alive – who cares. As such I pray vegetarian food to them. And my size needs a big space of accomdation, private jet, etc. so I burn paper house, planes, car, paper money, etc to them. So filial of me!!!!
Now comes the big question – Do they (the deceased really eat the food and received the gifts I burned to them???)
In life, we need to eat to survive as we have a physical body. No eat to life very fast game over. See ah, they already bid farewell to the physical world, so there isn’t any need for them to eat like us. However, due to ego reason(s), better pray (if you have started praying) and don’t stop the tradition. Even though ancestors not going to eat the food, if they see us praying food to them, they would be happy psychologically cos we filial.
Next, the things we burn how leh? Unfortunately they can’t receive. Even if they receive the cash we transferred (by burning) to them, their mode of economy and ours in this human realm is very different. Probably money to them is really pieces of paper with no value. And also if the house, other assets we burn to them which they can receive – there would be a terrible inflation in the other world. Hehe!
Then why we still burn things to them?
In the past, paper joss money, car, house were burned to the deceased signifies that whatever they own during their lifetime – all are unable to carry forward to them after death. As time passes by, due to commercial reason(s), the seller claims that if we do not burn those stuff to them, they would be very sad and poor and lives in poverty in the other world.
Now under Yin practice, we may encourage burning of items as a respect and thanksgiving to our ancestors – like using joss-sticks. This is to encourage positive good energy flow from ancestors as if they bless us with good lives and also encourage filial practice.
Chinese practice claims that during Qing Ming, we only pray to the ancestor(s) that was the latest to depart. Is it true?
Yes it is true. Lets take a person A for example, if his grandparents departed, he only pray to the grandparents. However, if one day his (any of his) parents departs, he can just pray to the parent and need not pray to his grandparents. If he insists to pray all his ancestors, it is ok too. It is also a form of thanksgiving, filial and giving respect.
In conclusion, Qing Ming is a festive season of thanksgiving with abundance of harvest in the spring period and praying to ancestors and “go up mountain sweep tomb”. It doesn’t involve so much on the deceased and any spiritual matter(s).
And during Covid, I have also offered services like helping you all to pray to ancestors on behalf – This also signifies thanksgiving, filial and encourage good energy flow with the blessings from your ancestors.
This service is still available.
Long time never do this (as below)..
As at now, this is Fong Chun Cheong, Yin Feng Shui practitioner, signing off.
*********************sign off************************
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I will try to write more stories.