——An Initiative launched by CBCGDF

The China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation has launched the "Green Qingming Festival Initiative: Ecological Tomb-Sweeping for Environmental Protection" Initiative. We believe that Qingming Festival should be green holidays that combines cultural heritage and new customs, and that in the era of ecological civilization, Qingming Festival should be sustainable in terms of "passing on family love and culture".

We call for:

1. A low-carbon way to hold sacrifices. Qingming Festival is an important festival in China, a day for ancestor worship and tomb sweeping. Traditionally, people express their thoughts about their deceased relatives by chanting sutras, burning meditation coins and setting off firecrackers. However, these rituals can easily cause fires, pollute the air and damage the environment. Therefore, it is recommended that we consciously observe social ethics and take care of our environment when making sacrifices. It is recommended that we adopt more civilized, environmentally friendly and safe sacrifices by planting memorial trees, sweeping tombstones and paying tribute with flowers.

2. To pay respects in a green way and express our thoughts for our predecessors. For many years in the past, people would use plastic flowers to pay tribute during the Qingming Festival every year, so there would be all kinds of plastic flowers in the market, and they were discarded immediately after use. However, today plastic pollution has become a global environmental challenge, and a historic resolution was passed at the just concluded UN Environment Assembly to eliminate plastic pollution by 2024. Therefore, we call for: no plastic flowers for Qingming Festival.

3. Perform sacrifices in a frugal way. In the past, people used to buy a lot of sacrificial supplies to mourn their ancestors and martyrs at the Qingming Festival. Many sacrificial items such as paper money, candles, plastic flowers, firecrackers, pastries, etc. were used in large quantities and rich people spared no expense to buy these things. We suggest that, in the context of ecological civilization, our sacrificial rituals today should be economical. For example, we suggest: offering a bunch of flowers, planting a tree, reading a sacrificial text. The core element is: sincerity of heart. Therefore, we advocate that Qingming rituals should be more connotative and less formal.

4. Avoid traffic congestion. Since Qingming Festival is the peak period for visiting graves and tomb sweeping, people and vehicles are especially concentrated, so it is recommended to avoid the peak to prevent traffic congestion and traffic accidents. We call for: green travel. It is recommended to consider more such as cycling, walking, or taking public transport to travel to the tomb.

Let's take action, from now on, from me, with a scientific, civilized, healthy lifestyle to lead the new civilization of the times, to consolidate, develop, and improve the green sustainable development of society to contribute.

(This is part of CBGCGDF's efforts in Tradition-and-faith-based Conservation）

Article by: Maggie

Editor: Linda