Tomb Sweeping Day

Tomb Sweeping Day, which is more commonly known as Qing Ming Festival was on the 4th April this year. It has been at least 5 years since I was last involved in Qing Ming; to do some grave visits and pay my respect to my ancestors.

The well-prepared dishes for the ancestors

Everyone prepared some dishes to be brought over to my uncle's place that day. It was a good chance for family members to gather around and have a little chat while waiting for the departed to “enjoy” the dishes. That morning, we talked about the difference of how we (2nd vs. 3rd generation) were brought up, the games we used to play and the food we used to eat. The ever sweet childhood memories from everyone of us.

Flowers for the ancestors

Apparently, I was still playing the same games my aunts and uncles used to play, such as "masuk", "five stones" a.k.a "batu seremban", "eagle-catch-little-chickens" and "marbles" a.k.a. "guli". Electronic games (PS, Nintendo etc) and computer were not that common at my young age. Typically, old-time games involve a lot of kids to get the fun whereas kids nowadays usually find it more enjoyable to have fun with non-living electronic appliances. That's the difference caused by the ever improving technology.

Grandpa from dearest's side

Grave visit was not easy as rain always come in the afternoon.After several attempts, we were finally able to show our loyalty and respect to my dearest's father at the gravesite this morning (picture above). Fire-crackers could be heard and the flow was still quite heavy at the cemetery this morning though it was not as great as last weekend.

Grandparents from beloved's side

We revisited my beloved's parents' gravesite (picture above) this morning though we were already there last Sunday morning. And, I saw this ice-cream man again (picture below), early in the morning, around 8am. Life is really not easy.

Ice-cream man doing business at the graveyard, early in the morning

Nonetheless, he gets the chance to enjoy the beauty of the sunrise every morning.

The beautiful sunrise view from the graveyard, Minyak Beku

There's always plus and minus in everything we do. How you look at it is how it affects you =).