This week people back home are getting ready to celebrate Easter, but here this one of the Western festivals is almost unheard of. I suppose it is less commercial in nature than those that have become popular in China, for example Christmas and Valentine's day. So, I'm planning to tell my students about it and take some choccies to class to buy them off, hehe.

But China, of course, has festivals and traditions of its own (practically every village has different ones!). One of the most important festivals culminated this past sunday: the festival of the dead or the grave-sweeping festival. On this day, people go to the cemeteries to pay their respects and offer gifts to those of their family who have passed away. They will also clear the area around the grave, of weeds for example. The spirits of the ancestors are offered fake money, paper folded in the shape of ancient Chinese currency (like little boats), white flowers and trees decorated with paper flowers - and food and alcohol are sprinkled over the graves. An even number of incence sticks is burned and offered. Sometimes some of this food is eaten by the attending family, as it's considered lucky. Unmarried girls are not allowed to take part in this ceremony, so it's performed by the men and married women of the family.

For the more important people, such as war heroes or goverment officials, a ritual of grave-sweeping is performed. People come to pay their respects, bringing flowers, and the ground around the grave is swept clean. I didn't go to the cemetary but apparently many students went to the 'cemetary of heroes' in Baoding, where famous people, war heroes etc are buried.

So, graves and spirits in both of our traditions this week...