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In Australia, about funeral and burial.

 
[Living]     19 Apr 2018
[author: Mo Xiaoning] do you know the specific steps for dealing with family members in Australia? How much does it cost to complete a full set of funeral ceremonies? Is there a funeral service in line with the Chinese custom? Ching Ming Festival, we learn about funeral and burial in Australia, as well as the service that is specially tailored for Chinese people.

[author: Mo Xiaoning] do you know the specific steps for dealing with family members in Australia? How much does it cost to complete a full set of funeral ceremonies? Is there a funeral service in line with the Chinese custom? Ching Ming Festival, we learn about funeral and burial in Australia, as well as the service that is specially tailored for Chinese people.

Hong Kong-based Derek Chan, who has worked in the funeral industry in Melbourne for more than a decade, is currently working in the Asia division of one of Australia's largest funeral services companies.

He told Australia that with the growing number of Chinese immigrants, Chinese demand for funeral services is growing.

"A lot of immigrants from home come in with a family, and ten years or eight years later, if the old man is in good health, the poor one dies."

The business that Derek takes over is generally divided into two, one is that children and relatives are mostly in Australia, they tend to bury their loved ones in Australia, so the farewell ceremony will also be held in Australia. Another is the sudden death of a traffic accident or emergency during travel or business in Australia, where the bodies are usually airlifted back to the country for a farewell ceremony and cremated burial.


The remains were transported back to the country. 

In the event of an unexpected death in Australia, what procedures would be required for the body to be transported back to the country? in general, funeral homes in Australia have a complete set of procedures for transporting the remains to countries other than Australia, Derek said.

"here we will clean and dispose of the remains, dress up, put them in coffins, seal them up, pack them up, and deliver them to the cargo terminal at the airport. The cargo stations will arrange for the coffins to be sent onto the plane. It is a passenger plane, and the general family members sit in the passenger cabin. The coffin is in the cargo compartment below. Tickets for coffins are calculated by weight and volume, usually more than a thousand Australian dollars. "

After the body is transported home, the body will be held in the country farewell ceremony, and then cremated and buried.


Pre-funeral preparations 

For those who chose to hold funerals in Australia, Derek said they could get in touch with funeral parlors from the moment they were in critical condition.

"if a person is critically ill in a hospital, the hospital generally tells the family to be psychologically prepared. At this point, relatives can contact the funeral parlour first, to understand the various services, what are the traditional practices of the Chinese, what are the different religious practices. "

When a person dies, the first need to contact the funeral parlour, if a person died in a home for the elderly, in order to take care of the feelings of other elderly people, funeral homes usually within two or three hours to take care of the body. If you die in a hospital, the body is usually parked in the morgue. Doctors sign death certificates and then the remains can be transported to funeral parlours.

After the body is sent to the funeral home, the funeral parlour will have a certified remains handler to clean the remains, repair the remains, dressed, and within a day or two will be ready to complete the funeral. If you need to wait for overseas relatives to come, the body will be parked in a four-degree Celsius low-temperature room.


Western funeral 

In Australia, about funeral and burial.

Funerals usually take place at 10: 00 a.m. or 4: 5 p.m., to coincide with the burial time at the cemetery. Australia allows burial. If you choose to bury it, the body is usually transported directly to the cemetery after the funeral. If you choose cremation, you can go to the funeral home in three or four days to collect the ashes and then bury them.

The funeral home where the Derek works is divided into traditional halls and Asian halls according to the needs of the funeral ceremony for the deceased, who said the service was simple for local Australians.

"they will also place the remains of the deceased at the scene, but the coffins are closed and the coffins are placed on the lid. They will also ask the host to officiate, the family will give eulogy on stage, and DVD will play back the life of the deceased. "

The speaker will sum up the life of the deceased. The curtain was closed and the ceremony ended and the coffin was sent to the hearse.


Chinese Funeral 

Chinese-style funerals, Supplied: Derek Chan Derek said, are generally held in the Asian Hall, mainly by Asians. They come from different countries and have different customs, but much the same.

"there are many funerals for the Chinese. There are worshippers, incense, spiritual, and Buddhist. We usually put the Buddhist platform on one side and the spiritual platform on the other. The tradition of the Chinese people generally attaches great importance to the worship of their families and knelt on three knees and nine kowtowing. If it is a Buddhist ceremony, when relatives and friends arrive, there will be chanting. "

"Daoism also has, some are Hong Kong-style Taoism, break hell, cross the bridge, open the altar, exceed the soul."

"it is the tradition of the Chinese people to open the coffin cover throughout their funerals, to show their loved ones their remains until they cover the coffin, and to kneel down to their knees in front of the soul. Then go out with a incense stove, a photo or a spirit card. This is the emotional time, the family will generally cry. "

According to Chinese tradition, funerals usually end before 1: 00 p. M.


Burial or cremation?

Derek said that even the Chinese now choose to cremation more and more, on the one hand, the concept of change, on the other hand, but also more affordable.

"after cremation, some scattered ashes into the sea, others buried in the earth. Cremated cemeteries are much cheaper than burials, perhaps less than half, and of course look at different places and choose coffins and tombs. "


bury 

In Australia, about funeral and burial.

Some Australians bought their graveyards before they died. Flickr CC: Kathy Drasky


After arriving at the cemetery, with the coffin placed in the pre-bought tomb, the family will continue to recite the scripture, and the same day will bury the tomb, the earth for peace.

Many Australians bought graves for themselves and even their families. Australian cemeteries are not expensive, with an average of six or seven thousand Australian dollars each, which can be used permanently.

"the Westerners are very open-minded open minded (), they will be ready in advance and buy a good place." They will even bury three people in one tomb, nine feet, seven feet, and five feet deep. "

According to Derek, there are also some cemeteries especially loved by Chinese people in Australia. These cemeteries are good in feng shui and very popular, but they are also more expensive. A single graveyard costs more than 10, 000 Australian dollars. It takes more than ten thousand to build a tomb and tombstone on it. The basic cost of the whole process is about A $40,000, $50,000.


Different views on death in East and West 

In Australia, about funeral and burial.

In Australia, the cemetery may be located in a residential area. Flickr CC: Resascup


For more than a decade in the funeral industry, Derek said, the atmosphere of funerals shows how different Westerners and Chinese view the issue of death.

"Westerners pay attention to the fact that a person's funeral is a celebration of life (celebration," he said. "the achievements of the deceased's life are displayed on display, while the Chinese cry for the ground at the funeral."

But Chinese have lived in Australia for many years and began to learn from Westerners in funeral and burial practices.

"some Chinese come to the stage to deliver eulogies at funerals, which are rare in Hong Kong and in China. This is also a way of drawing lessons from Westerners."

In terms of the requirements for coffins, the Chinese are very fastidious, domes or flat roofs, as well as wood requirements, do not want to collapse with the passage of time. Westerners are less fastidious, they believe that, after all, dust to dust, earth to earth, and natural integration.

And in Australia, you can see from time to time that a large graveyard sits quietly in a residential area or a busy part of the traffic, with greenery, neatly lined pine trees, and well-planned cemeteries. It has even become a place for people to relax. In the eyes of the local people, the cemetery is not bad, and there is no so-called "Yin Qi". Australians' calmness towards death is evident.

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