清明节 (qing ming jie)

Every year, on the 9th of the third month (Chinese Lunar Calender), marks the annual ritual of paying respects to our deceased loved ones. [according to my Dad is 9th of the third month but most Chinese pay their respects any time from the 1st to the 30th of the third month]

This year is no different. I even blogged about it last year - Qing Ming. Usually, most of my paternal relatives would turn up. Sadly, this year is just me, my mom and dad, grams and her youngest daughter [my aunt la].

Anyway, I woke up at 5.30am and tried to rush to my grams by 6am. We reached Mt. Vernon [place of the iconic 'HDB' site for the dead] before 7am. It was still really dark. Even had to use a torch.

First, we placed the stuff at my paternal granddaddy's area.

Then I went with my mom to see her parents' site.

My maternal grandmother and grandfather. My mom, being christian and all, can't take up joss sticks and paper. Well, at least she got them roses =). [she was 'ker-tod' by this store in Parkway Parade. S$2.50 per stalk of rose. So expensive.]

I use to remember when I was little, my mom and some of her sister would come here together on Qing Ming to clean the ancestral site. I haven't been here to pay my respects to my grandparents for about a decade. Gosh!

By the time we got back to my paternal granddaddy's site, sunlight filled the area.

This tradition is soon fading. Should I carry on for my grams? =)

Anyway, last but not least, can you guess which is my granddaddy? [I couldn't take a full shot like my maternal grandparents because my mom said my grams didn't really want me to take photo. Ooops. Sorry grams. I wanted to show the world my granddaddy.]