Qingming Festival | Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

The most popular activity of the Qingming Festival is tomb sweeping, when family members honor their ancestors by visiting their tombs and offering food, tea, ... Skiptomaincontent link QingmingFestival QingmingFestival Insupportofourstaff,students,facultyandpostdocs,thisinformationisofferedasaresourceabouttheChineseobservanceoftheQingmingFestival,alsoknownasTomb-sweepingDay. April5,2019 HistoryandMeaning DownloadaPDFofthistoolkit TheQingmingorChingMingFestivalisatraditionalChinesefestivalcelebratedonthefirstdayofthefifthsolarmonth.TheQingmingFestivalstartedover2,500yearsagoduringtheZhouDynasty.Emperorswouldoffersacrificesinhonoroftheirancestorsinexchangeforwealth,peaceandgoodharvestsforthecountry.In732,EmperorXuanzongoftheTangDynastystatedrespectmustbepaidatancestors’graves.Overtime,thisdevelopedintothetomb-sweepingtradition. TypicalObservances ThemostpopularactivityoftheQingmingFestivalistombsweeping,whenfamilymembershonortheirancestorsbyvisitingtheirtombsandofferingfood,tea,wineandincense.Itiscustomarytosweepthetomb,removeallweedsandaddfreshsoil.Somealsoputwillowbranchesonthetombtoprotecttheancestorfromevilspirits. Itisalsotraditionaltowearwillowbranchesandplacethemongatesandfrontdoorstowardoffevilspirits. Kiteflyingisacommonactivityenjoyedbyall,eitherinthedayorintheevening.Intheevening,lanternsaretiedtotheendofthekites. SweetgreenriceballsareoneofthetraditionalfoodseatenduringtheQingmingFestival.Otherfoodsincludepeachblossomporridge,crispycakes(calledsaziorhanju),Qingmingsnailsandeggs. TipsforSupportingtheVanderbiltCommunity Askthoseinobservancehowtheycanbesupportedandencouraged. Whilestudentsarenotautomaticallyexcusedfromclassforthisobservance,theymayworkwiththeircourseinstructorstomakeaccommodations.Graduateandprofessionalstudentsmustrefertotheirownschoolanddepartmentalvacationpoliciesandcalendarsformorespecificinformation. Staffmembersmayrequestpaidtimeoffforthisobservance.Supporttheirpreferencetotakeleavefortheirreligiousobservance. ResourcesforManagingWell-BeingandMentalHealth Peoplefeelmanytypesofemotionsduringtheholidays—joy,peace,stressanddepression,tonameafew.Whateveryoufeel,knowyouarenotalone,andVanderbilthasresourcestohelpyouthroughthesechallenges. Faculty,StaffandPostdocs Work/LifeConnections-EAP (615)936-1327 vumc.org/health-wellness/work-life Students OfficeofStudentCareCoordination (615)343-9355 https://www.vanderbilt.edu/carecoordination/ ForMoreInformation PleasecontactEquity,DiversityandInclusionatedi@vanderbilt.edu.Formoreinformationontheuniversity’spolicyonreligiousholydaysandobservances,contacttheOfficeoftheUniversityChaplain&ReligiousLife,[email protected]@vanderbilt.edu UpcomingEvents MORE» RecentNews HarryLeePageJr.,notedcardiologist,hasdied Sciencecareer‘pipeline’garnersnationalattention TheVanderbiltVentriloquist:AlumnaMeganPiphusPeacefindshervoiceasthefirstBlackfemalepuppeteeron‘SesameStreet’ Blackgirljoy,brillianceandmagicfrontandcenteratinauguralBlackGirlsBecomingsummerprogram PriscaMojicaRodriguez,MDiv’15:RebelWriter Leadershipprogramfordiversenewnurseleadersandfacultylaunched VanderbiltLawSchoolranks7thamong‘BestLawSchoolsforBlackStudents’ MORE   LoadingComments...   WriteaComment... Email(Required) Name(Required) Website