January 10, 2005

a different Christmas...

25/12/2004, Saturday, Christmas' Day, 2nd day of Funeral



Today is christmas' day but nobody is in mood to celebrate. (but actually I don't celebrate because I'm not a christian). This is the 2nd day of funeral (yesterday is considered 1 day), according to customs, funerals are held for 5 days, which is until tuesday.



woke up early at 5am plus, we have to reach by 8am plus. When we reach there, the body is still not inside the coffin and the whole place is not completely set up... my mother told me that I have take leave for monday and tuesday. Since it's this case, I might as well tale leave for sunday and monday as tuesday is my dismount day. so I applied off from PC for the next 2 days.



At around 10am, the funeral organizers came to setup the place and held the ceremony to place the body in the coffin. We are not allowed to see the ceremony as the funeral organizer says, only his children and daughter-in-law are involved. Then we put on the "孝" (the piece of cloth on the left arm to indicate a relative's death). As the "inside" or father-side nephew, I got the cream colour. My father, mother, uncles and aunties got black colour, my other side cousins(grandmother's daughter's children) got blue colour. And obviously his sons, daughters and daughter-in-law wears matt cloth. I can't remember the last time I wear this because the last time is when my "Ah Gong" (grandfather) died 20 years ago, when i am 1 year and 1 months old. Me and my brother went home around noon since there is nothing much to do...



Afternoon, reach home around 2pm. Surf a little, sms christmas wishes and watch <<白變金鋼>> on TV. Don't even have time to sleep, 5.30pm have to go back to the funeral.



6pm, reach Clementi with my brother to fetch his girlfriend. Then 3 of us headed back to the funeral at Punggol. On the way, my brother lend me a business book to read, named "The 45 Second Presentation That Will Change Your Life", quite interesting book...



Reached the funeral around 8pm. saw a lot of visitors. It's then i realise funeral is actually as easy as it seems, there's a lot of things to be done. set up tables, serve visitors, emoty rubbish and the main thing is there's mountains of incense paper to fold. We left around 11pm in my father's friend van...

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