PHITSANULOK: The Chinese Association of Phitsanulok has been showing open air movies at a Chinese cemetery in Muang district as part Qingming, the Ching Ming Festival.
A large screen was set up inside the Phitsanulok Chinese cemetery. Over three days, from April 3-5, two popular Chinese films are being screened each night. These are said to be for the entertainment of the spirits of the ancestors of Chinese Thais buried at the cemetery.
Attendance on the first two nights was thin, with few people bold enough to remain in the cemetery after dark to watch films intended for the ancestors.
During the festival, Thais of Chinese origin bring food and other offerings to the cemetery, paying respect to their forebears.
Suvimol Khamngoen, an official of the Chinese Association of Phitsanulok, said Chinese view the Qingming Festival as a very important occasion, a time when they pay respect and show gratitude to their forebears.
The Qingming Festival is also kown as Tomb Sweeping Day or the Pure Brightness Festival and is an important traditional Chinese holiday. The festival is celebrated in China and by Chinese communities around the world.
The main activity is the cleaning of family tombs and graves during the day.
The festival is celebrated 15 days after the Spring Equinox, usually April 3-5.
The Chinese cemetery in Muang district, Phitsanulok. (Photo: Chinnawat Singha)