Hanshik, Ching Ming Celebrated At Mountain View In Lakewood

LAKEWOOD, WA - On March 31, members of the Korean community celebrated Hanshik at Mountain View Funeral Home and Memorial Park. At the event, members of the community placed the names of loved ones on a Prayer Board, enjoyed traditional Korean music, dancing, ribbons, drumming and food.

Mountain View also celebrated Ching Ming with performances by Chinese lion dancers to scare away bad spirits. Buddhist and Taoist monks performed traditional blessings. This ancient Chinese grave-sweeping ritual is conducted each spring to honor the memory of deceased loved ones.

Based on the traditional Korean holiday, Hanshik is celebrated on April 5 each year, which is the 105th day after the winter solstice. The ancient holiday welcomes warmer weather and allows families a chance to reunite and celebrate all loved ones and their ancestors who came before them. Nowadays on Hanshik, families visit their ancestral tombs to spruce up and hold memorial services.

The observance of Ching Ming dates back more than 2,500 years and is linked to the Chinese culture of ancestor worship. Each year, celebrants visit ancestral graves where they conduct ceremonial rites and make offerings. Ching Ming traditions remain a significant part of cultural life in modern Chinese communities.

Images courtesy Mountain View