Qingming tradition continues in US

"As more Chinese immigrants make their homes in America, the remains of loved ones overseas are reunited with the present generation, reversing the previous custom," she writes.

This practice of shipping the remains from China to the US is a reversal of a common practice during the 1800s, when the bodies of Chinese railroad workers who died in the US were shipped home to ensure burial near their families, Crowder said.

In most cases, the bodies were exhumed several years after death, and the bones shipped home in tin boxes. In addition to this practice, approximately 10,000 embalmed bodies were shipped from the US to China at the close of the 1850s, Crowder said, although the practice was later discontinued.

Although Qingming rituals in the US do not differ greatly from those in China, Abraham noted that even within Chinese culture, there are differences. In Taiwan, it is not uncommon to see street vendors selling paper money and other materials for the holiday visit to the grave site. Some cemeteries have buses that shuttle relatives around, he said. Before the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) in the mainland, many parts of the country excluded women from the honor of observing the day.

When Chinese people first began immigrating to the US in large numbers to work on the railroads in the 1800s, they brought a variety of death rituals and customs with them, Chung said. For example, immigrants from Guangdong province brought a strong Taoist concern for feng shui, the ancient belief that the perfect arrangement of buildings, furniture and everyday objects can improve one's life, with regard to the burial site.

The Qingming Festival was among the death rituals celebrated by Chinese immigrants to the US from the very beginning, and a number of newspapers from the era published accounts of the holiday.

According to Wendy L. Rouse, in an essay titled "What We Didn't Understand: A History of Chinese Death Ritual in China and California," one anecdote tells the story of a Caucasian man mocking a Chinese man for placing food and money at a grave site. "Come now, do you really think your ancestors can eat the food, drink the wine, and spend the money?" The Chinese man replied, "As much as your ancestors can sniff your flowers."

Vincent Mak, owner of Fook On Sing, a funeral supply store located in New York's Chinatown, said that business has been steady in recent years.

"The process of celebrating has been simplified somewhat because some of the grave sites here do not allow fire-related activities," Mak said. "But the most important thing is that the offspring still choose to dedicate the day to (honoring) their ancestors' memory."

He also reported that as an increasing number of Chinese marry Westerners, there has been an increase in interest in the holiday in the US.

Pan believes that the holiday will change over time: "I don't think Qingming will fade completely, but maybe it will take on a new meaning," she said. "It happens during spring, so I think that over time it will be more about celebrating life, instead of focusing on death. I believe it will be more positive in the future."

Among the cemeteries that will hold ceremonies in honor of Qingming is Skylawn Memorial Park in the San Francisco Bay Area, which will host performances of traditional lion and folk dances. The cemetery has seen a rapid increase in Chinese funerals and burials during recent years, according to Crystal Tjon, manager and family service counselor at Skylawn.

Another organization that has chosen to focus on spring is the Museum of Chinese in America, which held its second annual Qingming Festival Family Day celebration in New York on April 1. Participants would be able to watch a spring dance performance, learn about the origins of the holiday and make kites in honor of spring.

"Qingming is ultimately about family, paying respect to our ancestors, and also as an awakening for spring," said Karen Lew, education director at MOCA. "And because the day is usually a private experience among families, we're hoping to bring it more into the public sphere."

Contact the writer at kdawson @chinadailyusa.com

Kelly Zhang in San Francisco and Jingshu Wang in New York contributed to this story.