Tradition has it that there's always light rain when Ching Ming comes.
Indeed, this April is a month of showers and sadness. Besides the local Ching Ming festival, when we worship our ancestors or visit the graves of our deceased family members, the passing of Pope John Paul II and Terri Schiavo are two public deaths which have touched the world. Though much affected by western individualism under years of British colonial rule, Hong Kong Chinese people still view life after death differently from the west.
In the west, coffins are buried in large churchyards, each having their own space.
Here, most of our relatives are cremated and their ashes kept behind small marble plates in a big shrine which contains row upon row of these plates. This style of burial is based on the Chinese ethic of relationships - having 'neighbours' means you won't feel lonely. But it leaves no space for family members to gather around the ashes in remembrance of lost ones.
Western graves, on the other hand, allow the dead to have their own area for family members to leave flowers or spend time at the grave site.
Hongkongers seem to be more materialistic. They burn paper villas, Rolex watches, suits, Mercedes-Benz cars, and so on in the central furnace hoping the deceased will have a wealthy life after death.
