Fuddland

Whilst the Christian world gets on with all things Easter, this weekend saw the Chinese festival of Qingming Jie, which goes by any of the following translations:

• Clear Brightness Festival
• Festival for Tending Graves
• Grave Sweeping Day
• Memorial Day
• Tomb Sweeping Day
• Spring Rememberance

Whatever you call it, the traditions are the same: on the fifteenth day after the Spring Equinox, people honour and remember their ancestors, with a graveside clean-up and offerings of food, tea, wine and other goodies. It’s another busy time of year when train-travel isn’t recommended, as city-dwellers travel back to their hometowns to join their families in the sombre festivities.