Celebration of Qing Ming in New York
My grandparents’ and parents’ generations still participated in the observance of Qing Ming by burning incenses at and bringing a lot of food to the grave sites, but my generation felt much more indifferent toward the holiday. Moving to New York has diluted the importance of this holiday because of the presence of other major American holidays. How can the Chinese children living in New York understand the importance of this holiday when it is not even considered national holiday?
The lack of peer pressure to celebrate this holiday has allowed for the dilution of sacredness of the Qing Ming Festival.
My grandmother who has celebrated Qing Ming almost all her life no longer does so in New York. Since all her ancestors are buried in China, she would have no one to pray to here in New York. Besides the absence of her ancestors, she does not feel obligated to celebrate this holiday because everyone tends to mind his or her own business in New York. If she were in China and did not celebrate Qing Ming, other people would criticize her for not being filial enough. But in New York, each person has a greater freedom to choose what he or she wants to do.
Below is the interview that I did with my grandmother. You will find information about the significance of the holiday, the meaning of the foods, and the impact of immigration.
I hope you enjoyed learning about Qing Ming!
Make sure to check out the other holiday pages as well!
Qing Ming Main Page | Holidays Home Page
