Tradition crucial to Chinese funerals

By Ying Ying Lee and Du Liya Source:Global Times Published: 2014-3-20 18:13:01

With Tomb-Sweeping Day around the corner, Chinese-Americans are getting ready to honor their ancestors and mourn their deceased loved ones. The tradition is still there, but has taken various forms at the digital age, local funeral business managers say.

The traditional Chinese conception that "fallen leaves return to their roots" is waning, and the idea of returning to Asia after death has gradually faded away in the face of local burials, said Henry Kwong, general manager of the Universal Chung Wah Funeral Home in Alhambra.

"Chinese immigrants are now more open in terms of afterlife issues," said Kwong, adding that more choose cremation instead of burials and prepare graveyards themselves.

The percentage of local Chinese immigrants choosing cremation has grown from 20 percent to more than 40 percent within the past two decades, he added.

Funeral businesses have also developed an online service from which people can order coffins and choose cemeteries. But Chinese are not so interested in buying funeral items online, Kwong noted, adding that Chinese still tend to think that 'seeing is believing.'

Kathleen Cheung, a cemetery saleswoman in Rose Hills Memorial Park and Mortuary in Whittier, also said that her local Chinese clients rarely shop online for funeral items because products often turn out to be very different from their online description and there is often not enough time to return them or get refunds.

Memorial costs, which include internment site costs and funeral costs, vary greatly depending on personal wishes, preferences, and the provider chosen, according to the website of Rose Hills, a cemetery where many Chinese-Americans are buried.

Increased demand has triggered higher prices for cemeteries. An interment site in Southern California used to sell for $500 about 20 years ago, but is now priced at more than $5,000. Coffin prices vary with the quality of its metal or wooden materials, said Kwong.

Eyeing the huge potential in the business, some US-listed companies have also waded into the field. But still, private companies can remain competitive in the market because they have a better knowledge of Chinese traditions and they can provide custom-made, one-stop services. According to some Chinese traditions, female bodies can only be dressed up by female workers and Chinese do not allow clothes to be broken in the coffin, Kwong said.

The funeral business has grown fast in recent years, and different states have different rules. For example, New York and Pennsylvania regulate that only those with antiseptic licenses can open funeral-service companies, and Louisiana forbids unprofessional companies from selling coffins. But California so far has no such limitations in the funeral business, Kwong said.



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