Qingming Festival 2023, 2024 and 2025 - PublicHolidays.tw

Also known as Ching Ming Festival or Tomb-Sweeping Day, Taiwanese families remember their ancestors by cleaning and offering sacrifices that may benefit the ... OtherpopularnationalpagesPublicHolidays2022PublicHolidays2023PublicHolidays2024PublicHolidays2025PublicHolidays2026SchoolHolidays2022 Home TheQingmingFestivalisanationalholidayinTaiwan. YearDateDayHoliday20235AprWedQingMingFestival20244AprThuQingMingFestival20255AprSatQingMingFestival20265AprSunQingMingFestival6AprMonQingMingFestivalHolidayPleasescrolldowntoendofpageforpreviousyears'dates. OfficiallyknownasQingmingJie,thisfestivalisatraditionalChinesecelebrationsetasidetohonourdepartedfamilymembers.AlsoknownasChingMingFestivalorTomb-SweepingDay,Taiwanesefamiliesremembertheirancestorsbycleaningandofferingsacrificesthatmaybenefitthedeceased.QingmingJieiscelebratedannuallyonApril5inTaiwan. Tomb-SweepingDayinTaiwan ThecelebrationofTomb-SweepingDayandancestorworshipdatesbacknearly2,500yearsinChineseculture.AlthoughthecelebrationofQingmingJiewasbannedonthemainlandin1949bythecommunistChinese,thepeopleofTaiwancontinuedtohonourtheirancestorsinkeepingwiththeirculturalheritage.ThishasbeenagreatsourceofnationalpridefortheTaiwanesepeople.ThecommunistrulersonthemainlandreversedthelongstandingbanagainstcelebratingtheQingmingFestivalin2008,andTomb-SweepingDayisnowwidelycelebratedthroughoutChinaasitisinseveralotherAsiancountries. TheliteralmeaningofQingmingJieisPureBrightnessFestival.Traditionally,thedaytohonourancestorsiscelebratedonthefirstdayofthefifthsolartermaccordingtotheChineselunisolarcalendar.InTaiwan,however,theofficialpublicholidayofQingmingJieisalwayscelebratedonApril5tohonourthememoryofthelateChiangKai-shek. ItisbelievedthatQingmingJiewasoriginallyderivedfromtheColdFoodFestival,orHanshiFestival,afestivalinthespringandautumnestablishedbyDukeWenofJinin636BCtohonouraloyalretainernamedJieZitui.ItseemsthatJieZituiwasaccidentallykilledwhentheDukesetfiretoaforesttodrivehisformerretaineroutofhiding.TheDukethenorderedthreedayswithoutfiretorememberhisdevotedservant. TheQingmingFestivalismoredirectlyattributedtoTangEmperorXuanzong,whoestablishedaspecificdayforhonouringancestorsin732ADbecausehefeltthatthepeopleweredevotingtoomuchtimetoancestorworship. QingmingFestivalCelebration TheQingmingFestivalischaracterizedbyanumberofculturaltraditionstohonourfamilyancestors.Amongtheseuniquetraditionsisthepreparationofgreendumplings,referredtoaseithercaozaiguoorshuchuguo,aconfectioncomposedofbarleygrassandglutinousrice.Thenationalholidayisalsousedasawelcomeopportunitytoenjoyalittlerestandrelaxation.FamiliessharemealstogetherandexplorethenaturalhabitatofruralTaiwan. ManyTaiwanesefamiliestraveltoruralormountainousareastovisitthefamilycolumbarium.Familymembers,youngandold,reciteprayersandpresentofferingsaspartoftheannualreligiousritual.Theofferingsconsistofanythingthatmightbeofusetothedeceasedintheafterlife,includingflowers,chopsticks,foodsandlibations.Onecustomistoofferjosspaperfoldedintheformorimprintedwiththenameofsomedesirablearticlesuchasanairconditionerorcar.Thejosspaperisburnedatthegravesitetousherthegiftintotheafterlife. WillowbranchesarealsoatraditionalpartoftheQingmingJiecelebration.WillowbranchesaretraditionallyemployedtowardoffevilspiritsinChineseculture.Familiesdecoratetheirdoorsandgateswithwillowbranches,andpeoplecanbeseencarryingwillowbranchesthroughouttheday.Thewardingoffofevilspiritsalsoprovidesanopportunetimeforfarmerstobeginthespringploughingoryoungcouplestobegincourting.Singing,dancing,explodingfirecrackersandflyingkitesarealsopartoftheQingmingFestivaltradition. ThefamilyburialgroundsofTaiwanesefamiliesareoftenlargeandcoveredwithvegetation.ThefamilyusestheoccasionofQingmingJietocleantheareaandprunethevegetation.Therefore,thetitleofTombSweepingDayismostappropriate.RespectforhonouredancestorsisanenduringaspectofChineseculture.ThenationofTaiwanhasbeenabletokeeptheancienttraditionofQingmingJiealiveinspiteofthestronginfluenceofmodernculture. PreviousYearsYearDateDayHoliday20225AprTueQingMingFestival20214AprSunQingMingFestival5AprMonQingMingFestivalHoliday20203AprFriQingMingFestivalHoliday4AprSatQingMingFestival20195AprFriQingMingFestival20185AprThuQingMingFestival6AprFriQingMingFestivalHoliday20173AprMonQingMingFestivalHoliday4AprTueQingMingFestival OtherpopularnationalpagesPublicHolidays2022PublicHolidays2023PublicHolidays2024PublicHolidays2025PublicHolidays2026SchoolHolidays2022