Funeral?

2 posts above, I mentioned a funeral. Yups, attended it that night. At KL.

Chinese funerals usually have wakes which lasts 2 nights. A third night if the family members want to wait for any close relatives who lives overseas.

And funerals are usually accompanied by monks or nuns chanting prayers. Dad says the monks are louder and err...has those cling cling clang clangs to go along. Waking up the whole neighbourhood XD haha. So yea, nuns are much more quiet.

This one, had chanting nuns. LoL.

I learnt something interesting too. You know how there's both the Chinese and English calendar? Where Chinese calendar takes into account the time you're conceived as one year. So even when I am 20 according to the English calendar, it's always plus ONE year in the other calendar. Meaning, in family gatherings on my paternal side, I'm 21 years old. XD

Apparently,(and I have yet to discover why), when one passes away, another 3 years is added. Lost?

See, my mum's uncle (my granduncle?) is 85 years old. Plus 1 year according to the Chinese calendar, making him 86. Another 3 years, making him 89. O___O

Me: Why have to add another 3 years?
Mum: Not sure. Something about the earth, 1 year, heavens, 1 year....
Me: Huh?
Mum: Probably to make the loss less painful. The idea of the deceased being older comforts the thought that he/she have lived longer in the world.
Me: Sounds logical...in a way. >.>

Anyway, I spend the few hours, folding those paper into some form of money. Which will be burnt as an offering during the cremation, so that the deceased will have money to use in the afterlife. There are different forms to fold into, we kinda did the simplest one. Mum said since I was bored, might as well help fold to pass the time, while both dad and her chatted around with the other relatives.

Mum: Do you know why we're folding these paper into different forms, the fatter looking the better?
Me: Huh, must be fat fat looking kar...smaller is easier to fold.
Mum: Because it's easier to burn.
Me: *looking lostlost* Can't we just burn the papers?
Mum: The papers are easier to burn when it's all folded. Being airy, allows the oxygen to flow.
Me: ohhhhhhh...*goes back to manual labor of folding papers*

haha XD Another one which I overheard, mum and her cousin talking

Mum: A friend of mine told me that when the deceased is 90 and above, the funeral procession would wear red mourning clothes.
Cousin: Red?
Mum: Hmm...it is said that reaching 90 is a big thing, so the family would want to celebrate that the deceased had lived a long and fulfilled life.
Cousin: Sounds like the Hokkien tradition?
Mum: Not sure, just heard of it from somewhere.

Interesting titbits. That is why sometime we need to take the time to go for the extended family gatherings. Both my bro and I only attended the wake on the first day, which was yesterday. Mum and dad went for both days. In fact, they just returned from the 2nd day. Yups, and taking leave to go for the cremation tomorrow morning.