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In western countries, if a family member dies, the family will immediately turn off all the clocks in the house, cover the mirror with black cloth or point the mirror at the wall, put out the fire in the house, open all the doors and windows, unlock all the locks and untie all the knots. And don't leave the dead alone in the house. Someone must wake up. At the same time, never let the dead lie in the dark, so light candles or turn on the lights in the room where the coffin is parked. Westerners believe that this is an uncertain moment for the dying soul, but in order to make the deceased get peace, in addition to religious ceremonies, the above rules must be observed. In western countries, there are many taboos in cemeteries, including: don't farm in cemeteries, which will not only lead to a bumper harvest of crops, but also bring endless bad luck and disasters to cultivators; Don't make tombstones into the walls of buildings, otherwise it will bring bad luck, death and the house will easily collapse; Don't lay a tombstone, otherwise it will cause an accident on this road; Don't use tombstones as fences or doorposts, otherwise it will be difficult to get rid of death or bad luck; Don't destroy graves, especially cemeteries, or the saboteurs will be in danger of blindness; Never take the deceased out of the grave, or the family of the deceased will be hit by disaster; Don't walk on graves, especially on unsealed graves, or you will encounter ghosts and diseases. In foreign-related funeral rituals, sweeping graves and offering flowers are expressions of friendship and goodwill to the people of the countries visited, as well as a tribute to the deceased leaders or martyrs. Therefore, during official visits, leaders of various countries pay tribute to the mausoleum or present wreaths to the monument in accordance with the customary practices of various countries. The ceremonies arranged by leaders in various countries to pay homage to mausoleums (or present wreaths to monuments) are similar. The common practice is to arrange an honor guard and a military orchestra on the spot and send senior officials to accompany them. At the beginning of the ceremony, the band played music, the wreath was carried by the grave sweeper's entourage, and the honor guards greeted the guests on both sides, followed by the grave sweeper; When laying a wreath, grave sweepers often have to come forward to help, arrange the ribbons on the wreath, then step back, stand in silence and walk around the mausoleum or monument. Some religious people can also pray for the dead. The whole grave sweeping process was filled with solemn atmosphere. People attending the ceremony should wear dark or plain clothes, some require dresses, and take off their hats when sweeping graves. Soldiers who do not take off their hats should raise their hands. In some countries, tombs are built in temples, and sweeping graves has its own unique religious ceremony. Non-believers can go to the grave without following some actions in religious ceremonies, but they should respect each other's customs and habits, such as taking off their shoes when entering the mosque, and women need to wrap their hair with headscarves. When China's leaders visit China, they often pay tribute to the mausoleum or present wreaths to the Monument to the Unknown Soldier according to each other's custom. State guests and other important foreign guests visiting China will, according to their own wishes, arrange to lay a wreath at the Monument to the People's Heroes in Tiananmen Square or pay tribute to the remains of President Mao Zedong. Ordinary people die for some reason while serving abroad, and their funerals are usually organized by the relatives of the deceased or the relevant institutions in their own country, or by the host country. The contents of mourning mainly include: setting up a mourning hall, holding a memorial service or funeral, etc. Relevant parties in the host country expressed their condolences in appropriate ways, such as sending letters of condolences to the families of the deceased, sending wreaths of flowers, and sending relevant personnel to attend the funeral. In case of the death of foreign friendly people abroad, Chinese personnel can express their condolences orally or in writing, and send condolences or flowers to the families of the deceased. If you attend a memorial service or funeral, you should respect the local customs. For the death of foreign friendly people and old experts who have worked in China for a long time, the relevant state departments can hold funerals; For the death of friends from well-known ethnic groups in China, we should also set up funeral organizations, publicly publish obituaries, set up mourning halls, accept condolences from friends of the deceased and foreigners from all walks of life in China, and present wreaths to the party, state and relevant departments Song Tiejing who attended the memorial service. Funeral ceremonies in western countries are basically religious. After death, a person shall first register at the registration office of the place of death or the place where the corpse was found, and a written certificate shall be issued by a doctor or autopsy personnel, and shall be registered at the grassroots organization where the deceased lived before his death; Then send a notice to relatives and friends or publicly announce it in newspapers and periodicals. Funeral usually follows the deceased's living will and last words to decide whether to be buried or cremated. Funeral is generally arranged by funeral organizations or undertakers, including the time and place of burial or cremation, as well as the time and place of funeral ceremony. Funerals in the west are usually held in churches, just like weddings. The specific procedure is to transport the coffin to the church, a priest will read the eulogy and pray for the dead, and then cover the coffin with a velvet coffin and send it to the cemetery or crematorium. Funeral and funeral mass can be held at the same time or separately (on a certain day after the funeral), usually with the consent of the priest or relatives of the deceased, including prayers and scriptures, followed by the Eucharist and finally the farewell ceremony. Western funeral customs are mainly influenced by Christian culture. Christianity directly connects everyone's soul with God, does not allow idolatry, advocates the sublimation of the soul and despises the body, so the funeral customs in the West are simple burial and thin burial. Christian funerals are more about praying for the dead, hoping that their souls will ascend to heaven as soon as possible and get rid of the pain before their death. Christianity believes that the soul needs to be quiet after death, so the funeral is very grand. Under the influence of Christian culture, from princes and nobles to ordinary people, funeral is basically very simple, which is the so-called principle of "equality of souls before God". In modern times, because of advocating the "scientific spirit", especially the rise of experimental science, westerners can look at death with a "scientific eye", which further weakens the society's enthusiasm for funeral. The west advocates "individual-oriented" and "individual-centered", so in the funeral, the deceased is also the "center", with the focus on the "soul" of the deceased. In a word, we can learn from western funeral customs. The essence of death culture is survival culture, from which we can see all the survival philosophy of a nation. Although there are many nationalities in the west, under the influence of Christian culture, the funeral customs are basically the same. The following is an overview of the more consistent aspects of western funerals. Funeral. In the west, there are mainly two kinds of funerals: cremation and burial. No matter what kind of burial method is adopted, it is buried in the cemetery. Graveyard. Urban cemeteries are generally built in quiet and elegant places in the suburbs, while rural cemeteries are built far away from the village. Western cemeteries have a high degree of landscape, long-term planning, unity and meticulous, roads, memorials, rest, accommodation and shopping places. The cemetery management is very strict. No matter what kind of burial method, the deceased should be buried deeply, the tomb surface should be flat, and then grass should be planted. The stone tablet should not be too high, and flowers of the four seasons should be planted around it. Flowers bloom almost all the year round in front of the tomb. No matter how many graves there are and who owns them, there are only tombstones and flowers in the whole cemetery, but no special signs or mounds can be seen. It is not only a paradise for the dead, but also a resort for people to relax. The use of western cemeteries is generally paid, and the use time varies, but there is a maximum period. Funeral etiquette. Western funeral customs include procedures such as washing corpses, changing clothes, mortuary plastic surgery, mourning, banquets and mourning, and Christian ceremonies almost run through them. People should repent before the priest before they die, and then the priest should pray for them. This is also hospice care, so that the deceased can see death correctly and get rid of the fear of death. After death, wash the body of the deceased under the auspices of the priest. The religious significance is to wash away the sins before death and go to see God cleanly. In western traditional funeral, the mortuary usually stops at the church and the priest presides over the memorial service. The priest introduced the life of the deceased and prayed for him. The following relatives and friends prayed together. Then four people carried the coffin to the cemetery, followed by priests, relatives and friends. When buried, the priest will pray for the dead again. No matter at the beginning or the end, relatives and friends can't wail loudly in the church, on the way to the funeral, or during the burial. They can only cry or sob silently, which means they don't have to worry about the silence of the dead soul. When buried, some petals are scattered in Tuscany, a cross is placed in front of the tomb, and a bunch of flowers are placed to let relatives and friends leave the grave silently. Paying homage to the dead is not the exclusive right of China people. Westerners hold ceremonies for the dead on the ninth, twentieth, fortieth and first anniversaries of mourning. At this time, relatives and friends can go alone, stand quietly for a while with a bunch of flowers. In the modern west, the rise of social work has further promoted the reform of western funeral customs. Funerals are no longer organized separately, but are "one-stop" services provided by funeral homes. Religious ceremonies and memorial ceremonies were held in funeral homes. The funeral was also delivered by a funeral home hearse. Western society has great respect for the dead. When the funeral home picks up the body, other vehicles take the initiative to give way, honking their horns to express their condolences, and passers-by pay attention to standing still.