This has been observed by Chinese communities for over 2000 years. It is celebrated around 5 April because that is springtime in the northern hemisphere. It is also the time to tend to the graves of those who have gone before. Families sweep the area around the tombs and leave offerings. They may also burn joss sticks and paper replicas of the things that the ancestors need in the afterlife. We pass a large cemetery on the way from our house to the city centre and have seen large family groups cleaning up around the tombs. There is a lot of smoke from the small fires and splashes of bright colour where people are holding up umbrellas to ward off the hot Malaysian sun.