Saturday, November 06, 2010

Chinese funerals


11 Things I learned about Chinese funerals: (There’s still more to learn)

1. The funeral lasts anywhere from 3 to 7 days.

2. They put up a special funeral tent close to the deceased person’s house.

3. They keep the body preserved in a kind of refrigerated box inside the tent for the entire duration of the funeral.

4. At least one person close to the deceased person must stay in the funeral tent at all times (even during the night.)

5. They must burn paper money so that the deceased person’s soul can receive the money in the afterlife.

6. They must burn all the clothes and personal items of the deceased person.

7. Friends of the family must give large fake paper flower arrangements to the family of the deceased (see photo).

8. On the last day of the funeral, there is a big meal where the family should treat those who join in the celebration.

9. The people one generation removed from the deceased person should wear a cream colored cloth on their head.

10. People two generations removed from the deceased should wear a cream colored cloth with some red trim on their head.

11. The corpse of the body should have 3 layers of special funeral clothing: a white, red, and black layer.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

People around the world have their own ways of dealing with death.