a natural expression

[ziawj2]

In Chinese tradition, if an elderly passed away, his or her descendents are expected to return to see her for the last time before the body was interred.
Could you give me some advice to make the expression natural? Thank you!

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[MikeNewYork]

First, it should be an "elderly person", although I wonder whether this applies only to the elderly. For many AmE speakers, the return to see the person is called a "wake" or "viewing". But that would not match well with "In Chinese tradition".

 

[Tdol]

I haven't heard viewing in the UK, but we do use the word wake.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I think "viewing" is more common among Protestants. "Wake" is preferred by Catholics. But there is overlap.

 

[Roman55]

his or her descendents are expected to return to see her for the last time before the body was interred.

I am not a teacher.

If it's something that is expected to take a certain length of time and is not just a fleeting last visit you could talk of holding a vigil.

 

[Raymott]

"their relatives are expected to view the body."

 

[emsr2d2]

For most people in the UK these days, a wake is a get-together (party!) held after the funeral. I am aware that historically, the body of the deceased was laid out in the house for people to visit and that was called the wake.

 

[ziawj2]

Thank you. Then could I wrote:

My grandma passed away and I must rush home to join her wake.

I must rush home to view the body.

I must rush home to keep a vigil.

Are all of them natural to native-speakers?

 

[MikeNewYork]

None of those work for me.

I would say "My grandma passed away and I have to go to her wake".

 

[emsr2d2]

No offence, but if she is already dead, what's the rush?

 

[Raymott]

No offence, but if she is already dead, what's the rush?

Maybe she's bright green, and beginning to smell?

 

[Tdol]

Also, in some cultures, getting there fast is a sign of respect. When my brother died, I remember that an Asian friend was surprised that I didn't jump on a plane to get back immediately, but tried to get a flight back for the funeral.

 

[Roman55]

No offence, but if she is already dead, what's the rush?

I am not at teacher.

Perhaps 'home' is a long way away, so the rush is to get there before they bury her.

 

[emsr2d2]

In the UK, unless you're from a religion where a funeral has to take place fast, there still wouldn't be any rush. It takes quite a long time to arrange a funeral in the UK, usually because you have to wait for a slot to be available at the crematorium/cemetery. My aunt died on the 1st February 2004 and her funeral was on 16th February. My grandfather died on December 17th and the funeral was on January 7th. There is usually a particularly long wait in the winter because more people, especially the elderly, die in that season. In addition, if the person lived/died and is being buried/cremated in an area of the country which has a lot of old people, there will be more deaths so the wait will be longer.

"To rush home" meant, to me, rush back to the house from the office or similar, rather than "rush back to my country". There are, as Tdol said, some cultures or religions where getting back to view or sit with the body as quickly as possible is of paramount importance.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I am surprised it takes so long in the UK. In the US the time from death to funeral is far shorter. With my mother, the wake was 2.5 days and the funeral proceeded directly after that.

 

[emsr2d2]

I don't know if it makes any difference but there are no religious considerations within my family - every funeral I have attended has been a humanist funeral. However, as far as I know, that didn't make any difference to the timescale. There simply aren't enough crematoria to go around! By the time you've booked a slot at the crematorium, organised the celebrant, invited all the guests, organised the food and drink for afterwards, (in the case of my aunt) put the announcement in the local/national newspaper "Deaths" column and made sure all the paperwork is in order, two weeks is about average.

No-one in my family has ever had a wake before the funeral. The body is held at the funeral directors until the funeral and it is possible to make an appointment to go and view the body at the funeral directors'. For my aunt's funeral, the wake was basically a big party back at the house where she had lived and died, attended by almost everyone who went to the funeral. My grandfather's wake was a much smaller affair - the ten people who had attended the funeral all went to the pub down the road, had a couple of drinks, toasted his memory and then we all went home.

 

[Roman55]

"To rush home" meant, to me, rush back to the house from the office or similar, rather than "rush back to my country".

I am not a teacher.

I agree with this.

My remark was tongue in cheek but not totally devoid of meaning. My father died in France and at the time I was living in England. I did have to rush, not for a wake but to ensure the last wishes were respected. Here in France there is a maximum permitted delay between death and burial, or cremation in his case, of six days.

 

[Matthew Wai]

@ OP, perhaps you mean the Chinese term "奔丧" which translates as "hasten home for the funeral of one's elder" in my Chinese-English dictionary, but I don't know whether it is natural.

Not a teacher.