Tomb Sweeping Day

Today is the day for Taiwanese takes the day off work, get whole family back to visit the graveyard. We called it - Ching Ming Festival. Mark and Joan would sacrifice food at home altar before noon. My parents are not going back to Tainan for the celemony which clean the gravesite in order to show our respect to our departed forebears; my Mom was sick whole night.The food offered on Tomb Sweeping Day is Jun Ping which is like unfired spring roll. Jun ping are made by placing a bean sprouts, shredded carrots, bamboo, meat, and dried tofu on a thin flour wrapper, sprinkling a little peanut powder and sugar on top, and then rolled up. Grave cakes are part of the rites during ancestor worship and cleaning of the ancestral tombs. The three most commonly used kinds of grave cakes are hung kuei cakes, fa cakes, and shu chu cakes. After celemony, we share the cakes with neighbours' kids. It meant honor past ancestors.

• Hung kuei cakes, used during deity worship, consist of an outer layer made of glutinous rice dough dyed red and imprinted by using molds with the design of a peach or a tortoise. They are filled with red bean paste or peanut powder. The most widely used type of grave cake, they may be used during many different occasions. It's Chris's favourite dessert. It also provided during new year time.
• Fa cake, on the other hand, are made by squeezing the water from Penglai rice milk, kneading the remaining dough together with baking powder, and steaming for three to four hours. The fa cakes symbolize burgeoning wealth and thus it is extremely important that the cakes sufficiently "rise." Cakes considered to be well-risen have a bulging appearance and the lines of the turtle imprinted on its surface will be deep. Also people like to have this Fa cake during new year time, to symbolize another peak of professional life or promotion or get better in any aspects.
• Tsao Tsai cakes are also commonly used as offerings during deity worship. Their greatest distinguishing mark is that the outside of the cake is kneaded with an herb . These cakes come in both sweet and salty flavors. It is DC's favourite one. I don't eat sticky or chewy food, no matter how hard my parents tried to make me eat it.

And yes, during Tomb Sweeping Day, we don't serve food hot. So food will be prepared on the previous night and we avoid to use cook or make fire during the day. When there is a new member in family, today is the day to attend the trip to gravesite. After the celemony, coloured boiled eggs would be broken to symbolize the opening of life.

In lunar calendar, there are 24 solar terms. Ching Ming is one of them, in the early Lunar March which is 106 days after the winter solstice and the 15th day after the vernal equinox (Chun Fan). Ching Ming literally means "clear brightness", hinting at its importance as a celebration of Spring. It celebrates the rebirth of nature, while marking the beginning of the planting season asn other outdoor activities. Well, following are 24 solar terms for future reference.

立春Spring begins. 　　雨水The rains. 　　惊?Insects awaken. 　　春分Vernal Equinox 　　清明Clear and bright. 　　谷雨Grain rain. 　　立夏Summer begins. 　　小?Grain buds. 　　芒种Grain in ear. 　　夏至Summer solstice. 　　小暑Slight heat. 　　大暑Great heat. 　　立秋Autumn begins. 　　?暑Stopping the heat. 　　白露White dews. 　　秋分Autumn Equinox. 　　寒露Cold dews. 　　霜降Hoar-frost falls. 　　立冬Winter begins. 　　小雪Light snow. 　　大雪Heavy snow. 　　冬至Winter Solstice. 　　小寒Slight cold. 　　大寒Great cold.

In the meanwhile, I am back on paperwork for some last minute request and DC is prepared for his trip to Canada on next week. I gonna work on making some more soaps. It's super hot in KHH, everyday nearly 30 degrees with bleeze. Lucky us!