Tomb-sweeping Day is one of Chinese traditional festivals, which usually occurs around April 5th of the Gregorian calendar.
Tomb-sweeping festival falls on the first day of the fifth solar term, named Qingming. Its name denotes a time for people to go outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime and tend to the graves of departed ones.
To remember and honour ancestors at grave sites is very important on that day. Young and old pray before the ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food, tea, wine, chopsticks, joss paper accessories, and libations to the ancestors. The rites have very long history in China, especially in countryside.
Besides worship rites, people also go on family outings and start the spring plowing. They go out to enjoy the beautiful sightseeing of springtime, relax themselves from busy work or have a short travel.
With the change of times, the celebration ways for Tomb-sweeping Day will also be various. What we should do is remembering the past and looking ahead.