Qing Ming

So every year around this time, Chinese would go to their ancestors grave to clean up their graves, pray to them, make wishes, ask for forgiveness , it's like a yearly visit kind of thing. This occasion is called Qing Ming in Mandarin or in Penang, people would call it Cheng Beng which is in Hokkien, a Chinese dialect.

This is my 2nd time doing it and I do not mind doing it again. It is tiring and at time irritating cos of the smoke and the dirty graveyard and stuff but it did not really run to my mind at all. It's like a family thing. This year, my brother and I went, my cousin, his dad, my youngest uncle, his wife and my aunt that came back just for this occasion.

As I am writing this entry, they are at a columbarium, it's like apartments for the dead, my dad told me as I was a kid. Haha not enough space to go around for dead people so some would stay in there. I did not go along cos I am sorta of allergic to the smoke over there and I can barely open my eyes as it is an enclosed area, so they dropped me home after breakfast and took grandma instead cos she would love to pray to her late husband which is my granddad which I love so much too. I might just go visit him some other day when there are less people. It would be great if my dear could come along.

I think it is a great tradition and it reminds us of who we are and our loved ones who are not around anymore. In my case, it thought me that do not tell your departed relatives that you miss them and you love them at their grave, they are not there anymore, we should appreciate and love and cherish the family members that we have now, forget all sibling rivalries, cos at the end of the day, they ARE your family.

Ok I am very tired now and I need a short nap as I woke up at like 5 plus this morning and it's 11 something over here.

130 more days, if I am not wrong. I miss you very much if you ever stumble upon my blog.