PETALING JAYA: The restriction on movement has made it impossible for Chinese families to observe Qingming the traditional way, which involves going to the graveyard to clean the tombs and present offerings.
As such, it has been a low-key affair for many families, including salon owner Pauline Chang.
Qingming can be observed two weeks before and after the actual day. But with the movement control order (MCO) in place to stem the spread of Covid-19, all religious and cultural activities that involve mass gatherings have been banned.
Pauline said she marked the festival with her extended family at their ancestral home in Taiping, Perak, on Saturday.
She added doing it at home also made it possible for her parents to lead the prayers when making offerings to their ancestors.
“My parents are getting too old to climb the steep hill to the tomb,” she told theSun.
Nonetheless, the offerings were equally, if not more, sumptuous. The altar was filled with delicacies such as chicken, roast pork, vegetables, rice, fruits and cakes. Pauline said most of the dishes were home-made.
“We booked some of the dishes from neighbours and all I had to do was collect them when they were ready,” she said.
Once the dishes had been laid out on the altar, the family patriarch, 83-year-old Chang Soor Har, lit some incense and put it in front of the ancestral tablet, followed by the rest of the family.
Soor Har then went outside the house to burn some “afterlife money” to offer to the ancestors.
After they conducted prayers, the Chang family had lunch together. All that was earlier offered to the ancestors were consumed over lunch.
The Chinese believe that eating the same food would bring good tidings to the family.
Pauline said the family hoped things would return to normal soon so they could mark Qingming the usual way next year.
