Tomb sweeping tradition extra special this year as Chinese community celebrates 100th anniversary
A roasted pig, three skinned chickens, three duck eggs and three bottles of beer are carefully placed in front of a monument that lists dozens of Chinese surnames in the Windsor Grove Cemetery.
Members of the Windsor Chinese Benevolent Association are participating in a tomb sweeping ceremony which starts every year on April 5 and lasts for 15 days.
The group honours their ancestors by offering food, drinks and paper money at the foot of the gravesite.
This year is especially special as the group celebrates and reflects on 100 years of being in Windsor.
"It's tradition, we bring out the food as if we were eating together as a family again," said Emma Chang-Brannagan, who has been participating in these ceremonies for more than 50 years.
This is the first year the organization has celebrated the tradition on its new monument, installed to honour early Chinese settlers.
"It is all about respect and family love, we have Chinese New Year we spend that with our family but our ancestors are part of family, we come here respect family love," said Waiman Fung, a member of the Chinese Benevolent Association.
The celebration is filled with symbolic meaning. Everything is offered to the ancestors in three's, representing heaven, earth and grandchildren.
The food is usually round in shape meaning unity. Paper money is burned in front of the headstone to symbolize wealth.
After bowing their heads three times to honour their ancestors, members of the Chinese Benevolent Association take a step back to reflect on the hardships their ancestors have faced.
"We are where we are today because of relatives coming here, paying the price to where we are today," said Chang- Brannagan.
