April 4, 2021 Qing Ming, aka tomb sweeping day

Do you sweep your ancestors tombs and/or honor your ancestors for Qing Ming? Even though I am far away from my family’s tombs, my father’s spirit visits me every year to remind me that it’s Qing Ming time, so I “bow” to those who have gone before.

Until I started doing my Chinese genealogical research, I did not know anything about this tradition. That changed after Dad passed and his spirit started visiting me and sharing things he did not talk about when he was in the physical world.

Years later, I pieced together a story, Qing Ming, for a writing assignment in a writing group. The assignment was to imagine a conversation among the three spirits of people who were buried next to each other. The ‘back stories’ of the characters are composites of what I have learned about my family members from my research. I honor my ancestors by sharing their stories.

I bow with love and compassion to my ancestors who continue to guide me in this life.