ABSTRACT
Other important holidays include the Clear Brightness Festival, known to some as the Remembrance of the Ancestors and to others as the Feast of the Dead (Qing Ming). This holiday starts 2 weeks after the vernal equinox (very early in April) when it is considered obligatory to visit ancestral spirits and sweep their tombs. The entire family goes together and brings food to the an cestors, often staying and eating it and more thereafter. Dragon Boat Festival (Duan Wu), on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, has multiple meanings, the most recent of which is to appease the soul of an ancient minister with tri angular, leaf-wrapped rice cakes dropped into the sea or river. After that rite, dragon boat races, family reunions, and feasting can begin. The Moon Festi val, sometimes called The Moon’s Birthday, is on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. It is at harvest time when families get together and give thanks for the past year’s crops; they also wish for a great and abundant coming year. Moon cakes (yue bing), heavy with fruits and nuts, identified on top with a specially designed stamp, are purchased, presented, and enjoyed by all on this holiday (Stepanchuk and Wong, 1991).
