What are the customs of funeral?

Funeral customs change according to the local people's feelings and the times, but the old names of most ceremonies still remain. Funeral, also known as "going out of the mountain" or "farewell ceremony", is officially called "sending the dead to the mountain for burial", and of course it is completed with the help of many ceremonies. The customs of this day are as follows:

1. Turn (move) the coffin, according to the coffin position: move the coffin from the mourning hall to the place where the ceremony is held (symbolically if the shed is erected), which is called "turn (move) the coffin". Where the coffin was originally parked, pour water to clean it up, and then put a big bamboo basket with barbecue pits, twelve bowls of vegetables, hairpins and other items, as well as a rice bucket full of rice, commonly known as "coffin position". When the coffin is parked in the hall, the coffin is placed in a heavy position and needs to be placed according to the coffin position.

2. Family funeral (formerly known as firewood head or starting a car): a grand ceremony before the funeral, all dutiful sons and family members should attend, and filial sons and daughters should prepare a pig head and five animals (now changed to joint heads).

3. Public drinking: that is, friends of the deceased are free to burn incense after drinking at home.

4. Spin the coffin and twist it. Introduction: Taoist priests lead filial piety around the coffin three times (to show that they can't bear to leave their relatives), and then twist the coffin with ropes and dragons. The introduction means that the funeral procession begins to move forward.

5. Burial column: traditionally, there are grass dragon, three wheat road money, drum opening, Ming Jing, filial piety lamp, surname lamp, elegiac couplet, array head, incense pavilion, soul sedan chair, four male, coffin (car) and filial piety. There is a custom of offering sacrifices at the funeral, that is, those who are old relatives or have owed money to old friends, in order to thank them for their kindness before their death, special incense tables are prepared at the funeral, and mourners use white cloth or towels as gifts.

6. Funeral methods: Today, most of them are burial or cremation.

7. Return to the Lord and rest in peace: After burial, welcome the soul (God) to go home and worship as "Return to the Lord", continue to settle on the coffin table, and then hold a funeral banquet to entertain relatives and friends who sent the funeral.

In order to make everything auspicious and safe, the funeral time must be coordinated with the date of birth, the children of the deceased and the survivors to choose the auspicious time of the funeral, which includes the auspicious time of the funeral, the overturning of the coffin and the burial. Burial days are most forbidden (the first day of the first month, the second day of February, the fifth day of March, the third day of April, the fourth day of May, the first day of June, the seventh day of July, the seventh day of August, the fifth day of September, the tenth day of October and the first day of December), so it is unlucky to go out for burial, remove spirits and close the stove. Other three mourning days, three evil days, red mouth days and eight strokes days are all bad days that should be avoided. If the funeral home is forced to bury on a taboo day, it is necessary to ask a Taoist priest to sacrifice, and it is forbidden for family members to cry during the funeral. This is called "stealing burial", which can be avoided without knowing the burial. In addition, pregnant women can't attend the funeral ceremony. If they want to attend, they need to tie a red belt around their waist.