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Reflecting on Qing Ming Festival (“Clear & Brightness”), a springtime Chinese holiday (originally coinciding w/ spring willow-planting in ancient China, Arbor Day-like) that honors departed ancestors.
I haven’t always celebrated it, but for the first time in a long time, I am back in Smyrna where my “wai po” and “wai gong” are buried and I will go with my mom to visit and “sweep/tidy their graves.” (Grandparents, mom’s side, wai=outside, good ex. of pro-male/father bias in language). I will also be thinking of many friends’ loved ones who passed recently…
For more on Chinese American celebrations and culture, visit
