Qingming Festival in Hai Duong

Descendants of the Nguyen Dinh family, branch 3, faction 3, branch 2, Do Chang village, Hong Du commune (Ninh Giang) visit graves on Thanh Minh festival (family photo provided)

Gratitude to the roots

This year, Thanh Minh Festival falls on Thursday, April 4 (February 26 of the lunar calendar), but on March 31 (February 22 of the lunar calendar), the Do Chang village cemetery, Hong Du commune (Ninh Giang) was filled with incense smoke, and people were excitedly visiting graves to pay tribute to their ancestors according to traditional customs.

In front of the ancestral mausoleum, many descendants of the Nguyen Dinh family, branch 3, faction 3, branch 2 of Do Chang village, gathered to weed, clean, and decorate each grave to make it more beautiful and clean. The most beautiful chrysanthemums and the most fragrant incense sticks were offered by the descendants to the tombs of their ancestors and deceased relatives to commemorate their birth and upbringing.

After the grave-sweeping ceremony, nearly 200 descendants of the above-mentioned branch, including about 70 people living in the provinces and cities of Hanoi, Bac Giang , and Quang Ninh, returned to the church to worship their ancestors and participate in many other meaningful activities. Here, the branch representative introduced the family genealogy system diagram so that the descendants could have a firm grasp of their origins and ancestors. Everyone in the branch met and interacted, making their feelings more connected and stronger.

Not only cleaning the graves, many families in Hai Duong also buy fresh flowers, sweet fruits, and offerings to pay respect to the deceased during the Thanh Minh Festival.

At the people's cemeteries in Gia Loc town, Ngoc Ky commune (Tu Ky)... lines of people eagerly go to visit graves on the occasion of Thanh Minh festival. People bring clean water, scented water to clean and tidy up the ancestral tombs. Some people bring sickles, hoes, shovels to cut grass, and square up the graves of their deceased relatives. Fresh flowers, sweet fruits, incense, candles, betel, areca, sticky rice, ham, banh chung... are displayed by people to make offerings in front of their family graves. Ownerless graves are also cleaned and incense is burned by many people with the wish to help the souls of the deceased feel less lonely and sad.

This year, 78 years old, with a hunched back and weak knees, Ms. Le Thi Phuong in Ngoc Ky commune still goes to visit graves with her children and grandchildren. "Being able to live clearly until now is also thanks to the ancestors, grandparents, and parents who gave birth and raised me. Except when I am sick and cannot go, I go to visit graves every year. Moreover, through this, I also educate my children and grandchildren to continue the good traditions and culture of our people for generations," Ms. Phuong confided.

Ms. Vu Thi Tuyet (blue shirt) and her younger sister take care of the graves of the deceased at Cau Cuong cemetery.

For the past week, almost every afternoon at Cau Cuong cemetery - the largest people's cemetery in Hai Duong city, there are many people visiting graves on the occasion of Thanh Minh festival. The graves, which are usually cold on normal days, become warm and beautiful on Thanh Minh day thanks to the care of relatives and descendants. Ms. Vu Thi Tuyet in lane 38, Tue Tinh street, and her relatives visiting graves here shared: "Life is getting better and better, children and grandchildren have more conditions to organize a more complete Thanh Minh festival to show gratitude to their roots. Along with visiting graves, our family focuses on making offerings to our ancestors and the deceased on this occasion to show our respect."

Organize many meaningful activities

Representatives of the Nguyen family of Mac origin in Thanh Lien village, Cong Hoa commune (Kim Thanh) presented certificates and longevity gifts to the elderly (photo provided by the facility)

Many families and clans organize parties and meet their descendants during the Qingming Festival. After visiting the graves, the clans gather to slaughter pigs and chickens to make rice, first to offer to their ancestors and deceased relatives, then for siblings and descendants to gather and celebrate. The feast can be simple with a few dishes made from pigs but is full of affection, showing solidarity and attachment between family members and between families in the clan.

Every Thanh Minh meeting, the Nguyen Dinh clan of branch 3, faction 3, branch 2 of Do Chang village organizes an award ceremony for their children and grandchildren who have achieved excellent academic results. Mr. Nguyen Dinh Chan, Head of the Branch 2 Education Promotion Committee, said that this activity has become a beautiful cultural feature of the clan, maintained since 2004 to encourage and motivate children and grandchildren to study enthusiastically, strive to do useful things, and contribute to their homeland and country. This year, 81 descendants of the clan were honored and rewarded. "Our clan also established a Zalo group to exchange information, creating connections between families and descendants living far away. Last year, a child in the clan living in Bac Giang had a serious accident. We, the clan, contributed more than 69 million VND to support him. The spirit of solidarity and cohesion in the clan has become increasingly stronger thanks to these meaningful activities," Mr. Chan informed.

On the occasion of Thanh Minh Festival and the death anniversary of the founder this year, the Nguyen family of Mac origin in Thanh Lien village, Cong Hoa commune (Kim Thanh) also organized the award ceremony of "Encouraging learning - Encouraging talent - Two-country champion Mac Dinh Chi" of the Mac family council of Hai Duong province and wished longevity to the elderly.

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