From Qingming To Ancestral Worship (清明祭祖)

Soon it shall be the Chinese ancestral day (清明) and as usual, my late date would come into my bro and my dreams.

Dad said to my bro: “This year I want to eat chicken, don’t want vegetables any more!”

Dad said to me: “I want to have an iPod!”

Of course, the scientific minded people would brush aside that the dreams merely an indication of our clinging of our dad when he is still alive.

Whatever you want to make to that conclusion, the fact is that the Chinese and Japanese too have very close affinity to their own ancestors. Had it not been the reasons of religions, ancestral worship may be the core belief of every culture I supposed.

People seek good Feng Shui locations for our ancestors to rest in the hope that the ancestors would watch over their descendants well too. A prosperous family is a family being watched after by the family’s ancestors.

However, now a day people tend to forget what their ancestors have done for them and they switched to religion for worldly help. I can assure you that this would not be appropriate as religions teach us to forget about our worldly things and do only good.

If I put this into another perspective:

“Who will help you when you are in need?”

I am confident that 99% of the time it is our parents that would lend a helping hand!

I have seen parents had gone bankrupt in helping their children in TV, but they had not grumbled a bit! They only hope is their children are well and happy…

So, if you are not deterred by religious reasons, please pay your ancestors’ grave a visit and tell them your problems (any personal problems). Of course, please don’t go there empty handed. If possible, bring some food offerings and incense; at least some flowers would be nice too!

You may be surprised to find that after you have prayed to your ancestors, you would feel a sense of relief and peace. So, how long had you not visited your ancestors?