What are the basic funeral customs?

In China, matters of life and death have always been regarded as equally important, so funerals among the people are also commonly known as "white weddings." With the continuous development of society, more and more traditional customs have been simplified or even forgotten, especially funeral and funeral matters, which are less involved and can be very disturbing if encountered. Next, let’s discuss what are the funeral customs?

The first is to guide the way: corresponding rituals and activities need to be held to guide the deceased relatives, so that the deceased thinks this place is clean and happy. The children should personally prepare white cloth clothes and blue trousers for the deceased on his bed. And burn the deceased's belongings, including clothes, daily necessities, etc.

Family members should send funeral notices to relatives and friends as soon as possible after the death of the deceased, or visit the deceased's door to inform them of the death. For relatives and friends who are far away, they should inform them of the date of the memorial ceremony. The second is the coffin: the coffin is held privately for no more than three days, and then a memorial ceremony is held. In some areas, local "gentlemen" will be asked to calculate a suitable time to hold a memorial service.

In the past, relatives were required to wear sackcloth and mourning during funerals. Generally, relatives and friends, accompanied by family members, should mourn in front of the soul until someone comforts them. If you are not a close relative or friend, you can burn a few pieces of paper money in front of the deceased. Nowadays, due to the funeral reform, things are different. The body needs to be cremated, so the front of the urn is usually facing forward when being buried.

In the past, depending on the financial status of the deceased, whether rich or poor, dead animals were sacrificed. The offerings could be shared among relatives or given to relatives and friends who helped to eat after the funeral. According to custom, it is also necessary to burn ingots, yellow paper, paper household items, etc. Finally, mourning was required, and in modern times it was changed to offering sacrifices to seven. The so-called offering sacrifices to seven refers to the first seven to five or seven. It is necessary to set up a mourning hall at home to commemorate the 100th day and anniversary. During the period of mourning, one should wear plain clothes and eat vegetarian food.