What is the Graveyard Shift?

Cemetery immigrant refers to the immigration of Chinese people to the United States due to their family. There are few relatives in their hometown. They brought the ashes of their deceased parents to the United States for burial. The place of burial of Chinese immigrants has been flowing in the reverse direction. It used to be moved from the United States to China, but now it is from China to the United States. It is reported that as more and more ancestral tombs have been moved from China in recent years, the price of Chinese Cemetery Cemeteries in New York has also increased.

Graveyard immigration

The mainland has almost no relatives

An overseas Chinese from Guangdong recently brought the ashes of eight ancestors to the United States and buried them in the family.

The change of thought from falling leaves to rooting

The migration of ancestral tombs is closely related to the change of thinking of Chinese people from falling leaves to roots.

Seeing American Cemeteries in the Ming and Qing Dynasties -Funeral-Memorial

(1) American cemeteries can be seen everywhere

In the United States, you often see cemeteries, right next to people's houses or behind churches. Some are large, some are only a few.

In Chinese culture, the first thing that makes people think of cemeteries is unlucky. If you choose a house, no one wants to live next to it.

But it is different in the United States. Some Americans prefer to live near the cemetery. Even in the downtown area, you will see the cemetery connected to the house, or just behind the church.

(2) American funeral with laughter

American funerals are very different, and the atmosphere is more relaxed, like a party.

At the funeral, there is a fixed link, that is, a speech delivered by a close friend of the deceased. Generally, it is to remember the past events of the deceased. Almost every time someone will talk about the fun of the deceased's life. Whenever this time, the people attending the funeral will laugh.

(3) "Ching Ming Festival" in the United States

In the United States, there is no special Ching Ming Festival. Due to the multiculturalism, the rituals of each nation are different. People will mourn on the birthday of the deceased, the day of their death, or their special holiday. The things often used are small candles and flowers Preparation of small wreaths.

But the National Day of the United States, the Civil War Memorial Day, is the last Monday in May. We call it the "Ching Ming Festival" of the country. It was started to commemorate all the sacrifices on the day of the soldiers Those who died in the war, and later gradually developed in the people's lives to commemorate their lost loved ones, today has become a universal sacrifice day, similar to the Qingming Festival in China.