Festivals for honoring the deceased from across the world

白甜甜

Qing Ming

Qingming is popularly associated with Jie Zidui in theSpring and Autumn Period， who saved his starving lord' slife by serving meat cut from his own leg. The lord， knownas Jinwengong， was later able to take power and decided toreward Jie but he declined. Jinwengong tried to force Jieout of a forest by fire but instead burned him to death andfelt deep regret. He ordered all his people to ban the use offire and eat cold food that day to mark Jie ' s death. It is theorigin of the Cold Food Festival， which starts one or twodays before Qing Ming and later merges with Qingming.Qingming Festival then became an important holiday froman originally simple farming day.

Orchid Basin Festival

Falling on July 15th according to the lunar calendar，Orchid Basin Festival is one of the big events in Japan allpeople observe. Japan usually gives people 3 days off to goback to their hometowns to pay respect to their ancestors. Itis said that the ancestors' spirits will return home， and soeach household put fire basins outside at the gate and hanglanterns for the spirits to find their way back.

Diwali-Festival of Lights

Diwali or Deepavali， the festival of "rows of lights"， isone of the most important of all Hindu festivals. Peopleplace candles on the stairs， hallway and balcony at homewhen night falls that day to pay respect to the deceased andpray for the family. Lighting lamps and candles during thefestival is also considered auspicious by bringing light，knowledge and etemal life from darkness， ignorance anddeath.

All Soul' s Day

All Soul' s Day， also called the "Day of the Dead" usu-ally occurs on November 2， when families fondly remem-ber the deceased by praying before an altar. It ' s also a timemarked by festivities， including parades of skeletons. In one

清明節

春秋時期，介子堆曾割下自己腿上的肉讓逃亡的主公充饑。這位主公，也就是晉文公，執政后要封賞他，但介子堆隱居山林拒絕封賞。無奈，晉文公放火燒山想逼他出山，不料卻燒死了恩人。自此，晉文公下令每年的這一天禁止生火，只吃冷食，這就是寒食節的來歷。因寒食節恰好在清明前一兩天，久而久之，寒食的習俗逐漸被移到清明，清明便從單純的農業節氣變為重要節日“清明節”了。

盂蘭盆節

盂蘭盆節是日本最盛大的節日之一，每年農歷7月15日舉行。日本全國放假3天，讓城里人返鄉祭祖。據說在這段時間，逝去的祖靈都會回到家中，為了幫助祖靈找到家，人們會在家門口擺放歡迎的火盆，并在屋內掛上燈籠。

燈節

燈節為印度每年最大的節日。節日當天，夜幕降臨后，人們會在樓梯、走廊、陽臺及屋里都放上點燃的蠟燭，為死者祈禱，并期盼亡靈保佑家人平安。點燈還被視為帶來光明、知識、永恒，驅走黑暗、無知和死亡。

萬靈節

萬靈節是墨西哥的傳統節日之一，又稱掃墓節，定在每年II月2日。人們在家里擺祭壇，供上祭品，悼念死去的親人。氣氛濃厚的節日傳統還包括化妝骷髏的盛大游行，以及把活人放進棺材里的notable tradition， revelers lead a mock funeral processionwith a live person inside a coffin.

Day of the dead

Poland and most of the Catholic world have celebratedthe festival on Nov I for many centuries. Also known as AllSaints Day， it ' s a national holiday when people all over Po-land visit the graves of loved ones and to place candles andflowers at tombstones. The candles， which can burn forhours， are placed to help the departed souls find the wayhome.

Memorial Day in US

Memorial Day is a US national holiday observed onthe last Monday of May. It commemorates those who diedwhile in military service to their country. Soldiers m serviceand veterans go to cemeteries to pay respect to their deadpeers by firing guns and blowing trumpets. First enacted tohonor American soldiers and casualties in the civil war， thetwo World Wars and other military actions， it later evolvedas a popular civil festival for each family to commemoratethe passing of their loved ones.“假面葬禮”。

亡人節

每年11月1日，波蘭及絕大多數信奉天主教的國家都要舉行亡人節，也稱萬靈節，以悼念逝人。這天是法定假日，人們都去掃墓，擺上鮮花并點上可燃燒幾小時的蠟燭，給亡靈指引回家的路。

美國陣亡烈士日

美國的陣亡烈士日通常在每年5月的最后一個周一，是法定假日。每逢這個日子，美國現役軍人和老戰士便前往墓地，鳴槍并吹響軍中熄燈號，讓死難將士安息。此節日最初用來紀念在南北戰爭和兩次世界大戰中以及在其它戰爭行動中戰死的兵士，后來逐漸發展為一般家庭祭奠逝去的親人。