What steps do funerals usually go through?

Xiao Di: Wash the body and put on the shroud. This step should be done as soon as possible, even sometimes before the end of life.

Funeral service: formally inform relatives and friends near and far about the time, circumstances and funeral arrangements of death. There are often strict conditions and order regulations.

Funeral: relatives and friends come from other places to attend the funeral, bringing gifts, presents, elegiac couplets, wreaths, etc.

Stop the spirit: also known as temporary mourning, the body is parked in the mourning hall for several days, waiting for relatives and friends who come to mourn; At the same time, it helps to determine death instead of coma and suspended animation.

Wake: During the wake, relatives and friends present, especially the younger generation of the deceased, take turns to guard the deceased in the mourning hall and accept condolences from mourners. During the whole funeral, the close relatives of the deceased (called dutiful sons/daughters) have to wear mourning clothes.

Coat: In front of family members, move the deceased into the coffin with a mattress, cover it with a quilt, and nail it to seal the coffin.

Funeral: Send the coffin to the cemetery for burial. The sign of the beginning of the funeral is that the dutiful son will break a clay basin, which is called "throwing the basin". Led by a dutiful son holding a "talisman", a band played and distributed paper money to the cemetery along the way. The burial ceremony was assisted by Feng Shui master.

Extended data

However, ethnic minorities in China have their own unique burial methods, such as celestial burial.

Tibetans advocate celestial burial, and they think that feeding vultures with "skin" is the noblest charity, which embodies the highest realm of Mahayana Buddhism paramita-laying down one's life. Like burial, water burial and cremation, it is a kind of belief and a way to express condolences to the deceased.

Its essence is a social and cultural phenomenon, and its origin, form, content and the implementation of the ceremony are all influenced by natural geographical environment, lifestyle, culture and other factors. Therefore, in different historical periods, different countries, regions, nationalities and even different social classes have had celestial burial ceremonies.

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