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Post by lachinatown on Apr 5, 2014 20:55:28 GMT -5
From Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland:
Ching Ming Festival April 5–6, 2014
Ancestor worship is a Chinese tradition that goes back thousands of years. “Ching Ming” or “Remembrance of Ancestors Day” is therefore a key holiday in the Chinese calendar. On this weekend, you may view hundreds of families visiting the cemetery to sweep/clean their ancestors’ graves and repaint the inscriptions on the headstones to show their respect. The families will bring food offerings too.
Mountain View Cemetery will be serving refreshments to families on April 5–6. Family Service consultants will be available to discuss our new burial plots and niches.
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Post by FayChee on Apr 5, 2014 21:10:21 GMT -5
Wow.....that's a relief! Thanks Lachinatown......I will do it tomorrow as planned. I don't know why those websites gave me that wrong information...........
Fay Chee ...............
Qing Ming 2014 ( 清明节 2013) – The Chinese Tomb Sweeping Festival
QingMing or Tomb Sweeping Day is a Chinese festival during which Chinese people to sweep and clean the tombs of their ancestors. Besides Tomb Sweeping Day, some countries call this festival as Qingming Festival, Ancestors Day, Pure Brightness Festival, Chinese Memorial Day, Cheng Beng and many others.
When is Qing Ming 2014? Qingming 2014 falls on Saturday, 5 April 2014. Due to different traditions in different places, some celebrate the Tomb Sweeping on the Qing Ming 2013 day itself, while for some Chinese, the date for celebration depends on family decision, any day from 21 March 2014 to 5 April 2014 is allowed.
How to know when is Qing Ming Festival? Qing Ming or Tomb Sweeping Day always falls on the 5th solar term – April 4 or April 5. In fact, Qing Ming occurs on 104th day after the Chinese winter solstice or Dongzhi festival.
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Post by douglaslam on Apr 5, 2014 23:54:14 GMT -5
Fay Chee, I just returned after visiting an old cemetery in my neighbourhood. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gore_Hill_cemetery . It was perhaps fifteen or more years ago at my local library that I found a local history booklet. In it, it makes reference to a Chinese section in the cemetery and why the Chinese were such prominent early settlers in the district. When a motorway was mooted to pass through the cemetery, and many graves had to be exhumed, it caused a huge public outcry. As a result the motorway plan was shelved but not before the Chinese section was exhumed. It seems even in death, the Chinese was given a raw deal. To go further, I made an effort to meet the Friends of Gore Hill Cemetery one Sunday all those years ago. The enthusiasts were keen to help me to locate the Chinese section. It was only a small square of about 10 m.X 8m., and completely overgrown with weeds and small tress. There were no tombstones at all, no visible markings of any description. Strangely, the Friends could not tell me if the Chinese buried were indeed exhumed.Even the local historian at the library could not shed light on it. That did not stop me from going to the cemetery at Ching Ming time each year to pay my respects. I can relate to these early settlers, perhaps some were from my county or even village. They were all neighbours from long past. I am still trying to get an answer in regard to exhumation. The simple offerings we are making (prepared by my wife) to the early Chinese pioneers. It is an overcast day, with drizzles and strong breeze. I have to put the candles under the plants to stop them getting wet. It was difficult to light them. The paper offering did not burn completely because of the drizzle. I ate the eggs, and pear. It is OK to enjoy them after offering to the spirits first. As a rule, we also honour the Earth God first. The cemetery is next to a major hospital. Seen here are the old buildings undergoing a complete refit. This is the complete site. There are no visible markings at all. It is overgrown with weeds. It does give an appearance of back-filling. Until I find the answer, I would come every year to honour and remember my neighbours from the past.
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Post by FayChee on Apr 6, 2014 7:51:33 GMT -5
Douglas, That is such a nice thing to do Ching Ming for those early settlers. I hope you do eventually find out if their bodies were exhumed or remain there....
I was wondering if the in-home alters can be used to do Ching Ming if one cannot get to the actual gravesite? I can foresee a day when I cannot make this trip into Brooklyn and hope that if I set up a special place in the house or yard, I can make the offerings there with the same or similar effects for Ching Ming?
Fay Chee
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Post by FayChee on Apr 6, 2014 19:21:10 GMT -5
Yeahhhh! I had a wonderful day....a great Ching Ming for Dad today, and a great Ching Ming yesterday with Mara and Arlene for their papa Chuck Sen! There were lots of families doing Ching Ming today, and I saw a few other Szeto, Seto families as well, but in another newer part of the cemetery. Then I went to the Queens Chinatown and ate tons of great Chinese Food including all my favorites.....lobster with ginger/scallion, baby clams with ginger/scallion, soupy crab dumplings, fresh made shrimp dim sum, for dessert: Durian pancakes, a fruit/ice cream thing, and another fruit and green tea thing.
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Post by lachinatown on Apr 6, 2014 20:40:20 GMT -5
Chinese Cemetery in East Los Angeles: It used to have an arch sign with Chinese characters. "At the height of anti-Chinese zealotry in the U.S. during the 1920's and 1930's, Chinese were barred from purchasing burial plots in all American cemeteries. Fortunately, in 1922, through the efforts of good men like Mr. Hung Tak Wong and Shao Hing Lee, a piece of land at the corner of First Street and Eastern Avenue in East Los Angeles was purchased for use as burial ground for Los Angeles' Chinese." The Chinese also bought a section of Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills for the Chinese in Southern California. Many Hollywood celebrities are buried there. Today, Rose Hills is popular place for the deceased Chinese. Rosedale Cemetery near downtown L.A. has many Chinese and blacks buried there. Chinese Cemetery in East Los Angeles Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills
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Post by douglaslam on Apr 7, 2014 6:57:39 GMT -5
Fay Chee, you are doing a good job. In photo #3 you had the chopsticks pointing the wrong way. The chicken is downside up, the head should be facing the front. You did buy one with the feet and head intact. Very well done. Wish I could join you to pay your father the respect due him, and then get on with the feasting.
Douglas
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Post by FayChee on Apr 7, 2014 14:01:15 GMT -5
Lachinatown, those photos are so picturesque and would make a lovely postcard. I sure would like to walk around those cemeteries and read the headstones..........it is possible that some of my relatives on my step-sister's side are buried there......and some of my dad's paperson relatives too. Last night I was thinking that I need to try contacting the children of my sister and find out where she is buried. Douglas, I really appreciate all the help that I can get so that I can do a perfect Ching Ming for my dad. Please continue to give me pointers whenever you see something. I promised to write down the helpful steps in doing Ching Ming for Mara and need to get it right. If anyone else can give me helpful pointers, I will really appreciate it. I am going back through the older posts for tips, and watching YouTube videos of other peoples Ching Mings. A big break came for me when Amy told me that she put joss paper and a rock on dad's headstone to let the spirits know that someone had been there and to "invite your dad to share my family’s ‘feast’ that day." This was a BIG nagging question in my head (about the yellow papers and stone), and I never had a totally satisfying answer until now. Douglas, I took a picture of someones finished Ching Ming while at Mara's dad's cemetery......can you tell me if the chicken is correct, and how do I place the chopsticks???
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Post by chinesefishermen on Jun 18, 2014 10:24:21 GMT -5
Hello, I am new to this board. I know quite a bit about Soo Hoo families in Ventura. Henry, Harry, Nellie, Jeanie and Ben Soo Hoo were the children of Soo Hoo Bock and Hueng (Minnie) Soo Hoo. Annie Soo Hoo was married to Soo Hoo Leung and they lived in Los Angeles. Minnie and Annie were sisters born in Santa Barbara. I have immigration files for several Soo Hoo family members from Ventura if anyone is interested.
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Post by lachinatown on Jul 28, 2014 11:53:21 GMT -5
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Post by douglaslam on Jul 29, 2014 22:19:24 GMT -5
lachinatown, it is an excellent guide to a self-help tour of Hoiping. The writer is far more resourceful and intrepid than me. I had no idea there are hostels in Chikan 赤坎. I was there in 2010 on a guided tour, with only three persons in the group. It is a pity the article is in Chinese only.
I might go to Hoiping again in October if my wife's cousin is able to join me from Hong Kong. He is a native there.
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Post by FayChee on Oct 31, 2014 7:27:13 GMT -5
Just when I thought I had found everything on Ancestry.com, Amy found a document on my dad that I had never seen before, and was kind enough to send it to me.......... In 1917, dad left Chico California and lived in Boston Massachusetts for two years, still using his Paper Son name.........
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Post by lachinatown on Oct 31, 2014 12:33:37 GMT -5
Very interesting that they have all that after so many years Fay Chee.
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msen
Member
Posts: 59
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Post by msen on Oct 31, 2014 12:45:26 GMT -5
Yes, I think many many records have been added to Ancestry because I now have about 100 new "Sen" names who came over in the late 1800's and early 1900's. In my previous searches (many months ago) there were maybe a dozen.
And look at line 12 - seems the same for many of the men from Canton. What a hard hard life they faced.
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Post by FayChee on Nov 5, 2014 9:57:54 GMT -5
I am so so so very excited! My Chinese Nephew and Wife recently traveled to China and Hong Kong. I was supposed to go with them, but chickened out due to my 'fear of flying syndrome' and the rash of airplane crashes happening at the time that I should have made my flight arrangements..........of course it turned out that my health took a turn for the worse just when I would have been on my way......Anyhow, I am so excited because they visited our Ancestral home in Chao Yang Li ..... took pictures and brought back some rice bowls that belonged to my Ancestors....they should arrive in the mail any day now!!!!
My nephew said that he was the last person to use the bowls and personally knows that they belonged to my Ancestors.....and as a bonus, they did not clean them and they are in the original condition that they were found!
Of course you must know that at the next Ching Ming, dad will be served his rice in his family rice bowls! It doesn't get any better!
I'll post a picture when I get them.
Fay Chee
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