Stories From Mount Hope: Ching Ming Festival 2022

April 5, 2022, is the date for the Ching Ming Festival this year. Known as Tomb-Sweeping Day in English, it is a day when people of Chinese ... SkiptoMainContent   Mainmenu Help/311 Home GuidestoBoston Departments PublicNotices Payandapply Jobsandcareers Events News Places Back Cemeteries Communitycenters HistoricDistricts Libraries Neighborhoods Parksandplaygrounds Schools Government Back TheMayor'sOffice CityClerk CityCouncil Elections Boardsandcommissions Citygovernmentoverview Feedback COVID-19information / Forthelatestupdates,pleasevisitourcoronavirus(COVID-19)website: COVID-19information Youarehere Home › LatestCityofBostonnews › StoriesFromMountHope:ChingMingFestival2022 StoriesFromMountHope:ChingMingFestival2022 April5,2022,isthe ChingMingFestival(knownasTomb-SweepingDayinEnglish),adaywhenpeopleofChinesedescentvisitthetombsoftheirancestorstocleanthegravesites. April5,2022,isthedateforthe ChingMingFestivalthisyear.KnownasTomb-SweepingDayinEnglish,itisadaywhenpeopleofChinesedescentvisitthetombsoftheirancestorstocleanthegravesites.TheChingMingFestivaltraditionallytakesplaceonthe15thdayaftertheSpringEquinox(April4,5,or6).Thisyear,TombSweepingDayisApril5.ThedateofthefestivalisindicatedontheChinesecalendarbythetwocharacters: ching,meaningpureorclean,and ming,meaningbrightness.Combinedtogether, ChingMing meanscleanandjust. Since1930,morethan1,500ChineseBostonianshavebeenburiedatMountHopeCemetery,includingsomeoftheoriginalimmigrantsfromChinawhosettledintheBostonarea.TheChinesepeoplehavealwaysreveredtheirancestorsandpredecessors.Onewayofhonoringthedeadistomaintaintheirgravesites.Severaltimesayear,theChinesevisitburialsitestocleanthegraves,burnincense,andmakeofferingsof“money,”“gold,”andfood.    Agravesitewithofferingsofjosspaper(ontopofthegravestone),flowers,food,andincenseOvertheyears,theChineseburialgroundsatMountHope(inparticularthethreeoldestsections)fellintodisrepair.In2007,theChineseHistoricalSocietyofNewEngland(CHSNE)dedicatedaChineseImmigrantMemorialadjacenttosomeoftheoriginalChinesegravesitesinthecemetery(neartheintersectionofWebsterandLeeAvenues).Thememorialismadeupofthreesections—anarchway,walkway,andaltar. CreatedbylocalarchitectJooKunLim—withinputfromBoston’sChinesecommunity—thedesignisunmistakablymodern.Whenaskedaboutit,thearchitectexplained,“Themoremoderndesignhastodowithgiving[theimmigrants]aplaceintheirnewhome,andthatit’salmost100yearsaftersomeofthemdied.Ithastoreflectwheretheyaretoday.” TheChineseMemorial—foodogs,entrancearch,andaltar.ApproachingtheMemorial,thefirstthingyoulikelynoticeisthetwomarblefoodogsculpturesatthebaseoftheentrancearch.Notoriginaltothedesign,thefoodogs—onemaleandonefemale—areoftenfoundflankingtheentrancewayofpalaces,Buddhisttemples,governmentbuildings,andevensomeprivateresidences.Themalefoodog(asyou’relookingattheentrancearchway,themaleisontheleft)restsonepawonaball,whilethefemalestandsoveratinycub. Believedtowardoffevil,thedogsprotecttheinhabitantsofthestructuretheyguard.AnotheridenticalpairoffoodogsisinstalledattheChinatownGateindowntownBoston. Thebaseoftheentrancearchway,aswellasthepathleadingintothespace,areconstructedofredbrick.Thearchitselfiscappedbyacontrastingtrellisofsteel.Twosingle-seatwoodenbencheswithcharacter-incisedgranitepanelscompletetheentrancedesign. Behindtheentrancearchwayisamonumentalaltar.ThealtarisfacedwithpinkgranitepanelsandengravedChinesecalligraphy.Waist-highonthealtarisasandytroughintendedfortheburningofincensesticks,whileacylindricalsteelcontainerinfrontofthealtarisdesignatedforburningjosspaper(paper“money”).Thememorial’smaterialsandplacementrepresentthefiveelementsofwood,fire,earth,metal,andwater. TheMemorialAltarThecalligraphyontheentrancearchandaltarareChineseadagesthatdescribetheintentofthememorial(“rememberingthosewhocamebeforeyou”),thelongjourneyoftheChineseimmigrants(“longriversflowfromdistantorigins”),andtheimmigrants’lastingimpactinAmerica(“abundantleavesflourishfromdeeproots”).   Sinceitsfoundingin1992,CHSNEhasworkedtoidentifythoseburiedatMountHope.Abilingualdatabasewithover1,400recordsisnowavailableontheCHSNEwebsite.Thepurposeofthedatabaseistohelpindividualstrackdowntheirancestorswhoareinterredatthecemetery. WrittenbyLauraSitterley,witheditorialassistancefromSallyEbeling,April2022 TheStoriesofMountHopeblogfeaturesperiodicpostsonavarietyoftopicsconcerninghistoricMountHopeCemetery.ThisblogishopingtounearththehiddenstoriesofMountHopeCemetery. Pleaseletusknowifthereissomethingyouthinkshouldbehighlightedbyemailingstoriesfrommounthope@boston.gov April7,2022 Publishedby: ParksandRecreation