Qīng míng jié 清明节 (Clear brightness festival) or Tomb Sweeping Day is a traditional holiday of commemoration named after the first day of the fifth solar month , qīng míng (clear, bright), which usually falls on April 4-6. Today qīng míng jié is observed by many in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam.
It is a time for people to go out and enjoy the sunshine and greenery of Spring. It is most importantly a time to pay respect to ancestors by visiting grave sites, offering sacrifices and sweeping tombs. Another custom of qīng míng jié is the burning of incense and paper money.
It is believed that anything burnt will be send to their ancestors in the underworld called yīnjiān阴间. However, this world cannot be comparable to heaven and hell. Instead it is a world parallel to the real world in which souls called húnpò魂魄 need money, chariots or cars, houses, and other things to function.
Since ancient times, on qīng míng jié people would burn paper money, paper houses and other objects in front of ancestors graves believing that they will be send to the underworld and used by their ancestors. Today some will even burn paper iPods, paper computers, and figures of women made of paper.
