Qingming
Both my husband and I together with my boy and girl had already gone to Sam Poh Tong to offer prayers to my late Parents-in-Law last Saturday. But yesterday was the actual day for Qingming. Early in the morning, before my husband went to work, he bought stuff to be offered to my late PIL at the altar of my home.
So when I got up from bed, I quickly got ready the stuff and prayed to my late PIL.
Lit the candles and josssticks.
We usually offered the following foodstuff..
fruits and steamed cakes
paus, angku, sesame balls and dumpling
barbecued chicken
siew york and some spinach
Before I collected those stuff, I threw two coins and I got two tails. That was a 'No' when I asked if they had finished eating. A while later, I tried again and it was two heads - a 'Smile' for an answer. Again another 'Smile' Ok, so I just let them for a while. Finally, I got a head and a tail! YES! I quickly took away all those foodstuff and started cutting the chicken and siew york.
Happy Qingming!
Happy Qingming to you too! Your late PIL must be very happy to get to "eat" all those yummy food.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. I wondered how long you left the food there and when you knew to take it away!
ReplyDeleteSince all of you went to Sam Poh Tong to pray to your late PIL, I assume that your PIL reside in Sam Poh Tong's columbarium. What about other great great grand ancestors? Do you all pray to them too?
ReplyDeleteMy husband has to pray to his grand parents in Taiping graveyard.
DeleteYour hubby is Taiping Lang....
DeleteGood system to know when they finish "eating" so that you can keep the food. Luckily they are not slow "eaters" or else you will have to keep throwing the coins until you get a tail and a head.
ReplyDeleteHappy Qingming mu! Nice wall template =)
ReplyDeleteThis year our QingMing is done quite early.
ReplyDeleteHubby is Cantonese people, his grandma just past away last year. So we need to do the offerings earlier than the actual day.
DeleteI brought Calvin boy go this time. Big enough to attend the praying. While my gal is still small, she's under my mum care when we went on that Sunday.
DeleteUsually Hokkien style we will pray on the exact day for those considered as "new"... Somehow our scheduled to be early as told by the "Lam Mor Lou" was good too. Why? Not crowded with people, smoke and lots of parking spaces. We even thought nobody going there so early but there were a few family go for Qing Ming too.
DeleteHahaha we are not alone...
DeleteBack at home, we pray almost like yours... with roasted chicken and siew york... Same style too...
ReplyDeleteTalking about the coins, we usually throw once and asked "Have they come?"
ReplyDeleteSame as a head and a tail that means they are there... we wait for them for a while. Later we throw another time "asking them whether they finished eating?"...again when a head and tail means they are ok.
DeleteYesterday dinner MIL cooked delicious food with "Phak Cham Kai", vinegar cucumber and not forgotten the siew york. Later, we wrapped the left siew york with spinach... Yum Yum.
DeleteYupe! It is the time that we show our gratitude to our departed ones. :D
ReplyDeleteQingming is actually a great time for family to get together again, don't you agree? :D
ReplyDeleteActually that's the case. But for us, my family were not whole on that day..
DeleteNormally i do not know the actual day for QingMing, have to ask around for the actual QingMing day...
ReplyDeleteWe had done our qingming last weekend. Many families came home from as far as Johor to pay their respect to the ancestors :)
ReplyDeletewe went to pay respect to our grandparents and then another place for my mum the last Sunday.. both places were so packed and traffic was so congested!! and weather was so hot and i got sunburnt around my neck.. @_@"
ReplyDeleteyeah, my dad did the prayers at home yesterday too.. typical to have all those offerings to the ancestors like what you had.. and those are what we had for dinner last night, hahaha~~
ReplyDeleteI learn more about QIng Ming here. :)
ReplyDeleteso much yummy food. Your Parents-in-law sure happy to get to eat
ReplyDeletePray early and on actual day . It's really good for your husband to do it too and the actual day . Dont think many over here will pray on actual day
DeleteIt's the qingming season now! I din't join the in laws to qingming last weekend, gotto stay at home looking after Aden.
ReplyDeleteNot going to join my parents to qingming too this weekend, hmm I think my ancestors will understand la right? :p
Deletewell, our ancestors don't blame us even though we can't make it..
DeleteThis month the restaurants are more free then... until the 7th month chinese calendar, right?
ReplyDeletemaybe but there are customers anyway..
DeleteDidn't have the chance to have this qingming thing for so long, kind of miss it!!!
ReplyDeleteohh another kind of celebration huh!
ReplyDeleteqingming huh! well what is this for?
well whatever it is if it means eating it would be a great event haha
it's to offer prayers to our ancestors..
Deleteyou had sticky rice cakes and circle fruits huh
ReplyDeleteare those for prosperity, like those things prepared for new year
at first i thought that barbecue chicken was a duck
ReplyDeletebut then it wasnt, haha
well it seems pretty crispy and yummy
anyway does that sesame balls has fillings?
ReplyDeletei ate one type of that, a version of ir with
beans filling and i find it better
it has beans fillings..
Deletehappy qingming to you wenn
ReplyDeletegod bless you and happy blogging
My MIL also prayed to ancestor on the altar at home yesterday, then at night, my husband also prayed at the road side.
ReplyDeleteThose pink and yellow steamed cakes look so good.
DeleteMy two girls will be fighting to toss the two coins after praying. They find it fun.
DeleteMy parents' side, we offered prayers earlier to beat the crowds. For my FIL, we offered prayers on the day itself.
ReplyDeleteMost of the people offered their prayers over the weekends. One of the Chinese primary school here even took the day off for the convenience of the teachers and parents on qingming.
ReplyDelete