Qīngmíng Festival
China has many holidays and festivals. The most recent one is called “Qingming Festival” (also know as: Pure Brightness Festival, Clear Bright Festival, Ancestors Day or Tomb Sweeping Day). It starts today (April 5) and last for about 3 days.
This is a traditional Chinese holiday that is more than 2,500 years old. When the communist took over in 1949 they suspended the holiday but reinstated it in 2008. (More Info: Wikipedia)
From what I understand about the holiday is that it is memorial day filled with many superstitions, folk traditions, and ancestor worship. One of the guys told me that basically people sweep of the tombs of the their families graves, offer them food, and burn paper money. He also said over the next few days we will see people burning this paper money and joss paper on the street at intersections. We have already started seeing the little fires at the intersections. Also, in many places where the streets are lined with people selling this joss paper and many things that go along with it.
I wrote a little about this before after visiting the graveyard and finding a hell bank note, you can read that here:
http://www.projectchina.org/blog/2010/12/11/the-graveyard-part-1/
Over the next few days as we see the small fires and people focused on those who have already entered into eternity, it makes the need of the Gospel even more relevant to me. There are so many here that need Jesus. It is a holiday without hope, a reminder of the price for sin (death), and a culture that doesn’t have Jesus at it’s core!
Pray! Come over and help us! Do something!
02.6.11
The Graveyard (Part 2)
An interesting part of the graveyard was the section that represented people and their accomplishments in life. I am sure many of these graves represented leaders in their day that made a noticeable difference. You could tell this by their gravestones. They were generally large statues carved into something that seemed to represent what they did with their life. Many seemed to be authors as they would have books and pens. Others seemed to be great military leaders, politicians or teachers.
But they (like all men do) had a date death. When this is considered the only thing that truly matters is: did you bow the knee to the true and living God? And next, what did you do with your life? The second one doesn’t matter if the first once isn’t a reality. But if you are a Christian and you know you have a date with death, then what are you doing with your life?
What would a statue on your grave be created to represent? What would be written on your gravestone?
Would it represent a life lived completely sold out for the glory of God?
Consider your life…
Read: The Graveyard (Part 1)
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