The Clear and Bright Festival (Ching Ming) March 31, 2006

This ancient Chinese festival takes place 106 days after the Winter Solstice in the cemeteries of Hong Kong, where families pay respect to their ancestors with various offerings.

One of the most important parts of Chinese culture (and one which has been all but forgotten in Western society) is the veneration and honouring of the dead. To honour your dead you must provide a long line of family, hence the importance of the family in Chinese culture. Among the offerings, "spirit money" (paper money) is often burnt, and it is said that during Ching Ming some true devotees actually scrub the bones of their loved ones.