Re: Gah San or Ching Ming/Cemetery Festival

[CHUNG Yoon-Ngan <chungyn@mozart.joinet.net.au>]

Dear Henrietta,

Please read chapters one, two and three in Dr Han's "Crippled Tree"
or go and search for my postings on "Crippled Tree by Han Suyin"
a few years back somehere in this Forum. 

I had written a story on Ching Ming and I lost it. Will try to rewrite 
the origin on Ching Ming soon when inspiration comes.


Yoon-Ngan

On Mon, 19 Jun 2000, Kelvin & Henri wrote:

> Hi everyone,
> Someone I know is interested in finding out more details about the
> significance of Gah San, the Chinese cemetery celebration of the ancestors.
> Please tell us more about it. It sounds like a fascinating topic, when it
> comes to Hakka Chinese customs.
> 
> My dad, who was Cantonese, was the leading family expert on Chinese
> customs. He told me that in China, the Chinese would bury their relative in
> one grave, and after a few years, the remains of the body would be place in
> an urn and buried in a final resting place. Of which, he returned to China
> on several occasions, and did bury my ancestors in their final grave(burial
> site) where a lot of villagers came to witness the event. For the Hakkas,
> though, in China, I've been reading that upon the second burial, the
> remains are placed in an urn, but carried with the family, because the
> Hakkas have always been believed to be moving from place to place, and
> haven't settled in one permanent home.
> 
> I've also been reading at the Hakka Chinese Jamaican website, that Gah San
> is practiced by the Chinese in Jamaica, who are mostly Hakka, being such a
> cohesive group, they gather in the cemetery, and pray to their ancestors.
> My dad, however, explained to me that the significance of lighting a candle
> on the grave, is that our ancestors came before us, and we should remember
> them, for it is because of them, we came into existence.
> 
> If you have proper explanations for this Chinese ritual, and can compare it
> to the Cantonese custom, please do tell us. If there is a website with more
> info, please do let me know about it.
> Henrietta.
>