First, red-colored dishes and dishes with red characters cannot be served.
We often talk about red and white events. Red events refer to marriages, which are very festive; while white events refer to funerals, which are very sad. In rural areas, two colors are generally used when meeting white people, one is white and the other is black. Both colors are very solemn and are used to express respect and mourning for the deceased.
If you serve dishes that are red or have the word "红" on them, it is disrespectful to the deceased and you will be scolded. Therefore, braised dishes such as braised pork, braised fish, braised lion head, etc. cannot be served during funerals.
Second, dishes in pairs cannot be served.
Paired dishes also have the meaning of blessing and auspiciousness, and are also taboo during funerals. If such a dish is served, it means a curse, hoping that another member of the family will die soon. Who would like this meaning?
Therefore, dishes such as "Mandarin duck fish" and "Kissing fish" cannot be served. These fish are paired when cooked and have good meanings, but they must not be seen during funerals.
Thirdly, dishes made with oranges and pears cannot be served.
Oranges and pears cannot be served, which is related to their homophonic pronunciation. People in the past were very superstitious and focused on having good fortune in everything they did. The homophone of "Orange" is "Juezi", so if oranges are served on the table, it is a curse to the person who will have no children or grandchildren, which is very abominable.
And "pear" and "li" are homophones. If pears are served on the table, it is a curse that the family will be "separated" and something bad will happen. This is very unlucky.
In the past, people had many taboos about white things. If you didn’t study some taboos, you wouldn’t even know what they were. Nowadays, some taboos have begun to be gradually eliminated by everyone. Young people know less about this aspect. Moreover, everyone believes more in science and gradually looks down on these Feng Shui superstitions.