FAMILIES will bring food, wine and tea for their ancestors to Springvale Botanical Cemetery this weekend.
The cemetery’s dedicated Buddhist section, Song He Yuan, will host the annual Ching Ming Festival on Saturday 5 April – ching meaning to cleanse and ming meaning brightness.
Families remember and honour ancestors at the event also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day.
Yun Yang Temple’s Venerable Master Ren Xian and Sangha will conduct the grand offering in the Di Zhang Wang Temple, with the Grand Offering from 11am, with the Ching Ming offering and transfer of merits to ancestors following at 1pm.
In past years hundreds of people have come together on the day to perform rituals that are thousands of years old.
Families pray for their ancestors, sweep the graves, clean headstones, replace flowers and offer food, wine and tea.
Song He Yuan is Australia’s largest dedicated Buddhist cemetery and was designed and developed according to feng shui principles.
