Tomb Sweeping Day

This weekend is Tomb Sweeping Day across Taiwan. There is no school and many public businesses are closed. During the holiday most Taiwanese spend time at their family tomb site cleaning and maintaining the area. Many also use the time to respect or worship the previous generations (called BYE-BYE, English phonetics). It has been very interesting that this weekend is also Easter. Although it is a minute holiday compared to Tomb Sweeping Day in Taiwan, it also has its celebration amongst the Christian believers. I was able to share the Easter tradition with my students and explain that the holiday is not all about candy and bunnies, but just as they go to maintain their family tombs, some of Jesus’ friends were doing the same thing for his tomb. When they arrived they found the tomb empty and were in shock. An angel appeared to them comforting them saying that Jesus was no longer dead. Then they went to tell their friends and families about the news. My students seemed to like the account, but could not imagine what it would be like to arrive at their family tombs and have them already be open, let alone have one of their family members alive again. It has been a great correlation this year in sharing the good news of Jesus!