April 4: Qing Ming

Qing Ming Jie, which translates to "Clear and Bright Festival", falls in early April and emphasises filial piety and ancestral worship.

The visiting of cemeteries and columbaria with food and other offerings in memory of family and relatives marks this day.

Qing Ming has its origins in the Zhou dynasty (1125BC to 255BC), with emperors and high-ranking officials performing solemn rites in ancestral temples.

It was only after the Han dynasty (206BC to AD23) that it became a festival for the masses, who turned up at grave sites to offer prayers and food. The food - either home-prepared or bought - includes chicken and pork, cakes, fruits, vegetables, rice, wine and tea. If the ancestral tablet is placed in a Buddhist columbarium or temple, the offerings will be vegetarian.

For those visiting cemeteries, sao mu (the sweeping of graves) is done to remove weeds, clean the tombstone and repaint faded engravings.

Offerings are also made to appease wandering spirits.

Mock money and paper gifts are burned to ensure that the ancestors are not deprived of material comforts in the afterworld.

These include replicas of clothing and accessories, houses, cars, television sets and mobile phones.

At the end of the visit, the food is packed up - after the ancestral spirits are deemed to have had sufficient time to eat their fill - for consumption by the family at home.