Hello again, and welcome back to Happy Hour.

In the past couple of weeks, the things I saw most people were sharing in their pictures were flowers, all sorts of flowers, inthe most exquisite colors, all in full bloom.

And it just hit me. Spring is really here. In fact,we're already in April.

April, especially the beginning of April, does have another significance in Chinese culture. This is our Tomb Sweeping Day, or 清明.

Last year around this time, we did an episode aboutremembering loved ones that have passed away. And in today's episode, I wouldlike to share with you a topic that is often overlooked in language learning, this is death and funeral.

Now in Chinese culture, death and funeral are still pretty much the taboo topics in most of the situations. But nobody can deny that this is a very important part of any culture.

So in today's episode, we're going to take a look athow funerals are carried out in the English speaking world. What you can see at funerals? What people do at funerals? And most importantly, what to say andwhat to do to people you know who have just lost a loved one?

In China, because death and funeral are taboo topics, but in fact, if you think about it in another way, funerals, they are solemnevents that honor a person's life and allow other people to pay respect to his or her memory.

Of course, when people lost their loved ones, they grieve. Grieve means they feel really, really sad, devastated. Usually we usegrieve when people lost someone they love.

For instance, we can say she grieves over her son's death. Another similar word would be mourn, for instance, if we say they arestill in mourning. In mourning, meaning they're still in the period ofmourning, mourning the loved one they have lost.

Perhaps they will be wearing black, perhaps they willnot really smile that much, all because they're so in mourning for the lossthey suffered.

So, let's look at what you actually see at funerals.When people pass away, their family members will go to a funeral home. They used to be called other names, but nowadays they're called funeral homes. It just sounds a bit nicer and softer.

And people who work at these funeral homes, they're called funeral directors, 殡葬服务从业人员。 If you read articles or watch some movies, you might hear the word ‘undertaker’. Undertaker are also the same type of people, but this is a much older term. You see it a lot less now.

And these funeral homes and funeral directors, they will help the family choose a casket. This is to put the person in. Some of you might know another word coffin, but casket again has a softer meaning.

Casket doesn't have to mean coffin. It can also mean alittle box that holds jewelry. Some funerals are arranged to be an open casketfuneral.

Open casket, meaning the casket is open. Sopeople who come to pay respect can actually see the person who has passed away. 有点类似于中国的遗体告别仪式，but it will last slightly longer.

And when talking about the funeral, flowers are often one of the elements. But unlike in China, where flowers are arranged mostly in wreath, but in English speaking world, they're not necessarily arranged in wreath.

They can be any type of flower arrangement. And funeral flowers can be lily, rose, orchid or carnations. If casket or coffin is for people who are going to be buried underground, then this other word, urn, is for people who are going to be cremated.

So if the person who passed away is cremated, his orher ashes are put into an urn. Some of the things you'll notice at a funeral isthat people generally dressed in dark colors.

You won't see really bright colors because it's a veryserious and solemn and sad occasion. And traditionally, close female family members would be veiled. They will wear a veil to cover their face. But nowthis tradition is not always observed.

After the ceremony, usually people will go tocemetery. You might find the word ‘graveyard’, but graveyard is not often used in terms of funeral.

And then you will need pallbearers. They will carry the casket. They usually are chosen by the family members, and they will be in charge of carrying the casket. And of course, there will also be headstones (墓碑) with inscriptions.

Now let's take a look at what people do at funerals.

Sometimes at funerals, there is a funeral processionled by a hearse. A funeral procession, this is a line of cars, a fleet of carsdriving very slowly, usually led by a hearse.

A hearse is a long car that carries the casket. But sometimes people will have a church funeral or find a place to have a memorial service. A memorial service is to remember the person who has passed away.

And at these memorial services, families and friends, they will take turns in reading eulogy. Eulogy(悼词), a piece of textor article they have written to tell people about the stories of the person who has passed away.

Culturally in China, eulogies are usually very sad, but in English speaking culture, sometimes eulogy can be more upbeat. They caneven have jokes in them, because it's more about remembering the life of thisperson.

And after the funeral, sometimes before the funeral,there is a tradition of a wake(守夜), family and friends, they gathertogether to chat, even to have a drink, talking about the stories of the personwho has passed away.

And for people who want to be cremated, sometimesfamily and friends will scatter their ashes in the sea, in a river, or even ontop of a mountain. Scatter the ashes, perhaps seeing movies and TVs: at the end of the ceremony, a religious leader saying ‘ashes to ashes, dust to dust’尘归尘，土归土, and people would say, ‘may he rest in peace’逝者安息。

After covering a lot of the aspects of a funeral, in the end, let us take a look at what to say when someone you know just lost aloved one.

This is a pretty awkward situation. We often find it difficult to say anything. But what you can say is, ‘I'm so sorry to hear that’, or ‘I'm really sorry for your loss’. And more formal ones would be ‘my condolences’ 节哀顺变.

Instead of trying to cheer up the other person, we cansimply say, ‘I can't imagine what you're going through’.

I can't imagine what you're going through. And if wewant to offer help, we just say, ‘if there's anything I can do, just let meknow’. In this way, we don't sound very pushy, but we also sound very caringand polite.

Apart from saying these to the person, when you hearthe sad news, you can also send sympathy cards (慰问卡) to the familybefore the funeral. And in the card, people often say ‘Our thoughts and prayersare with you’, especially if you're religious. 我们的心与你同在，为你祈祷, our thoughts andprayers are with you.

And some companies will give employees compassionateleave恩恤假.

Now we're coming to the end of today's episode. Deathand funeral, such a huge topic, and we've only managed to cover some of thebasics.

I'll see you next time. Bye.