Shandong county promotes reforms to old funeral customs

In recent years, Ningyang county in Shandong province has promoted funeral reforms and guided the public in breaking away from old customs and traditions.

The county has reformed its institutional mechanisms by encouraging villages to establish working groups to help locals simplify funeral arrangements.

For example, the Beiguan community of Wenmiao sub-district has optimized its services by providing free funeral services to residents, limiting the mourning period to no more than three days and eliminating practices such as hiring musicians, setting off firecrackers, using loudspeakers, and wearing mourning clothes.

Instead, the community encourages the wearing of black veils and white flowers, while also providing a subsidy of 3,000 yuan ($416.75) to each bereaved family as compensation for time off work.

In Wucun village, village officials are assisting with funeral preparations, including the centralized purchase of sound equipment and the reduction of mourning periods, as well as coordinating the allocation of burial plots.

Ningyang county aims to promote exemplary villages in order to encourage surrounding areas to follow suit and modernize their customs and traditions.

The county will guide the public in cultivating modern funeral concepts and implementing beneficial policies. (Edited by Yang Yi)