Honour And Learn About Qingming Festival With The Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre!

The Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC) is running its latest series of digital and physical programmes highlighting the customs and traditions practised during Qingming to encourage better appreciation of our distinctive Chinese Singaporean culture.

Photo Credit: Flickr

Qingming is an important festival for families to come together to remember their deceased loved ones. Literally translated as “clear” and “bright”, Qingming falls on the 15th day after the spring equinox and marks the arrival of spring when the weather is clear and bright. First brought over by early Chinese settlers, Qingming continues to be observed in Singapore and still closely resembles the practices in China.

Here's the list of family-friendly online and on-site programmes by SCCC to look out for:

1. Kaki Says: Qingming Festival (卡其说:清明节)

Photo Credit: Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre

Venue: Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre Website | Facebook | Instagram | Youtube
Date: Available from 26 Mar 2021

Did you know? One story about the origins of Qingming Festival tells of a man named Jie Zitui who was burnt to death, and his connection to the Cold Food Festival (Han Shi Festival or 寒食节) which takes place a day before Qingming. Learn more about this lesser-known story and other fun facts behind this festival with Kaki in this animated video.

2. Keeping Traditions Alive: We Are Family (保留传统习俗:清明时节爱加温)

Photo Credit: Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre

Venue: Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre Website | Facebook | Instagram | Youtube
Date: Available from 1 Apr 2021

How is Qingming Festival related to our roots? Follow Shin Liat and Jack from the Genealogy Society Singapore, as they shed light on what the festival means to them and how various dialect groups in Singapore honour their ancestors through different practices. Through conversations between these fathers and their children, discover the importance of passing down cultural values to the next generation.

3. SINGAPO人: Discovering Chinese Singaporean Culture (新加坡华人·探索本土华族文化)

Photo Credit: Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre

Venue: Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, Level 2, 1 Straits Boulevard, Singapore 018906
Date: Ongoing
Time: Mon: 2pm to 8pm | Tue to Sun: 10am to 8pm
*Extended opening hours until 9pm till 28 Mar 2021
Fee: Free Admission

Roast duck, roast pork, and roast chicken - collectively known as “sansheng” or three treasures, these dishes are often used as food offerings during the Qingming Festival. Find out more about these time-honoured practices at the Centre’s SINGAPO人 exhibition, which highlights Chinese Singaporean culture through food, language and festivals. Learn how Chinese culture in Singapore has evolved in a way quite unlike other communities around the world. Come discover (and rediscover) what it means to be a ‘Chinese Singapo人’ today.

For more information, please visit the SCCC website.