1, choose the cemetery
In the past, people with status attached great importance to the choice of cemeteries, believing that cemeteries with good feng shui could make future generations flourish. At present, cemeteries are built on barren hills and wasteland, which does not occupy valuable land resources. However, after planning and construction, planting trees and planting green trees, it is also a beautiful scenery and flowers, which has become a good place for the old people to rest in peace. Although the cemetery has developed rapidly in all aspects, for various reasons, bereaved families should master the following points when choosing a cemetery:
(1) According to relevant regulations, operating cemeteries must have a cemetery business license. This certificate confirms the legal status of the cemetery. At the same time, the purchase of tombs must use the unified tomb certificate and tomb purchase contract of the whole city. Some cemeteries are operated without the permission of the management department, and once a dispute occurs, it will bring trouble to the tomb buyer and cause losses.
(2) Convenient geographical location. There is a custom of sweeping graves in Qingming among the people. When a family goes out to visit the grave to worship their ancestors, they must first consider the convenience of travel. The road is too far and the traffic is inconvenient, which will make sweeping graves time-consuming and tiring. You can generally choose to live in the suburbs. Take Shanghai as an example. Since the 1980s, the municipal government has approved the construction of some cemeteries in the suburbs to solve the problem of difficult burial of ashes, and now they have made great progress. For example, Binhai Ancient Garden, Xu Jing West Garden, Weijiajiao Rest Garden, Dianshan Lake Guiyuan and Zhuanqiao Sleeping Garden are all well-known cemeteries in Shanghai. These cemeteries have agencies in urban areas, and there are free buses to buy tombs. Usually, the traffic for sweeping graves is also very convenient: there is a shuttle bus on weekends, and there is a shuttle bus to and from the cemetery from morning till night during Qingming winter. Shanghai residents don't have to go to other places to bury their relatives as before, but they can get convenient and thoughtful service in this city.
(3) Choose according to the architectural style of the cemetery. There are many cemeteries now, and the landscape and architectural style are different. Some are on the mountains, others are by the water. Some are China gardens, such as Binhai Ancient Garden and Dianshan Lake Guiyuan. The scenery in the park is natural and smooth, quiet and elegant. After more than ten years of development, it has become a garden unit with clean roads, towering trees and rockery pavilions in Shanghai. Some are European-style, such as Jingxi Garden, tall French castle-style gatehouse, large fountains with extraordinary momentum, magnificent Roman architectural corridors, elegant statues of Greek mythological figures and so on. A good cemetery has a beautiful environment, surrounded by green trees, strict management and complete services. You may wish to visit the funeral home on the spot and choose according to your own wishes.
Choose a grave style
After the cemetery is selected, the style of the grave should also be selected. There are single points, double points and three points in the tomb. The single hole was buried by the deceased alone, and the area did not exceed 1.5 square meters. The double cave is generally buried by husband and wife, covering an area of no more than 3 square meters. Three points are generally buried in families, with an area of no more than 4.5 square meters. There are many kinds of stones used in graves, with different textures and patterns. Different stone textures, carving techniques, sizes and geographical locations form different artistic styles and selling prices. The price of an ordinary single-hole tomb is about 1500-4000 yuan. Double points are around 4000-8000 yuan. Art tombs are expensive and are generally negotiated by consumers and cemetery operators. Some cemeteries have good environment, complete infrastructure, smooth roads and naturally higher prices; And some relatively simple cemeteries and graves are also cheaper. In the same cemetery, the graves on both sides of the road are more convenient and more expensive than other graves.
There are many kinds of tombs with different styles, and the common ones are as follows:
(1) ordinary tomb
Ordinary tombs are the most common, that is, the ground is paved with slate, the tomb is in the middle, the stone tablet is built behind the tomb, and the back and sides are surrounded by slate, which becomes a semi-closed cemetery. People saw rows of barracks-style graves.
(2) Lawn Tomb
Lawn tombs do not plant tombstones, do not surround cemeteries, and directly bury sarcophagus underground. The sarcophagus is covered with a stone tablet, which is slightly higher than the ground, engraved with inscriptions and surrounded by green grass. The whole cemetery looks like green grass.
(3) Art Tomb
Many art tombs are specially designed according to the life of the deceased. They are very artistic and personalized, with high cultural taste, which fully embodies the affection of family members and the ingenuity of designers. For example, the tombs of artists Bai Yang and Jiang Junchao in Binhai Ancient Garden symbolize the stage with a rectangular platform and a large piece of white marble as the background, implying a screen; The tombstone of music educators Fan Jisen and Fan is a piano. Use "an open book" to summarize the life of intellectuals and so on. The art tombs are distinctive and thought-provoking, and are welcomed by undertaker. Therefore, as long as the bereaved family requests, the cemetery will be designed by professional designers.
3. Grave purchase procedure
After the tomb is selected, the tomb buyer will go to the agency of the urban cemetery with the cremation certificate signed by the funeral home and his ID card, or directly sign the tomb sales contract at the cemetery, pay off the tomb money, and receive the tomb certificate uniformly printed by the funeral management department.
4. The inscription is to be written.
Inscriptions are words carved on tombstones. Monuments are mostly rectangular, and the epitaph system generally includes name, place of origin, family background, experience, meritorious service or article, time of death, etc. And then buried somewhere in a certain year and month, and finally inscribed.
There are two kinds of old tombstones. One is a famous monument. The tomb is marked with the name of the owner, the name of the person who erected the monument and the time when the monument was erected. There is no inscription on the back of the monument. The second is a tombstone with an inscription on the back. Epitaphs generally include name, organization, family background, experience, works, year of death, burial place, and finally inscriptions. Most of the inscriptions are rhymes, mostly written by the descendants of the deceased. The writing format of epitaph: Generally speaking, it is divided into four paragraphs from right to left. The first paragraph writes the date of birth of the deceased; The second paragraph is an inscription, writing the name of the deceased; The third paragraph is about the person who erected the monument; The fourth paragraph, write the time of the monument.
Be buried
Burying the urn underground shows that the whole process of burying the dead is called burial.
After the tomb is bought, the urn can be buried on the spot or temporarily stored in the cemetery. As the funeral is an important event, people generally pay more attention to it. Choose a good date, after relatives, friends and children have arrived. People have the custom of being buried in Qingming and winter solstice. When buried, the dry powder is put into the grave, and the urn is wrapped with red cloth. The urn was slowly put into the grave by the children of the deceased, and then the burial workers in the cemetery sealed the hole and covered it with cement.
The ashes are placed in the loess, and the deceased relatives will rest in the ground. People feel heartfelt sadness, so a short ceremony can be held after the cave is closed: a flower basket and wreath are presented in front of the tombstone, and fresh fruits, cakes and dishes are placed; Relatives say some words of comfort to the deceased, and may the deceased rest in peace; You can also read the eulogy if you have the conditions. Eulogy is a mourning text, written like a letter, but written to the deceased himself. In fact, the eulogy is read to the living, so that the living can inherit the fine traditions of their ancestors and move on on the unfinished road of the deceased. Finally, everyone stood in silence and bowed three times.