UK - still lots of funerals are all black. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
I was told not to take photos at a funeral (UK Jewish liberal) so I have here just the cemetery attendants taking away the bier which transported the coffin to the grave.
In India, photos of the mourners gathering to pay respects to see Bollywood film star Sridevi Kapoor in Mumbai show hundeds of people in all colours. The VIP film stars have arived in white.
Problem
What colours to wear at weddings and funerals in Asia?
Answers
Funerals
Hindus wear white for funerals.
Weddings
(Symbol of purity, just as white, which was established for Weddings in the UK and worldwide by Victoria in 1840.)
Indians and Chinese
The Indians and Chinese brides were red (auspicious and lucky).
However, many brides, especially Japanese, and in Singapore, will change dresses, perhaps wearing white wedding dress for one part of the ceremony, usually the formal part, and photos, changing into a shorter coloured cocktail dress for ease of movement dancing at the reception.
Best to remember check on what colours you should wear. Worldwide, the rule would be for the immediate family to co-ordinate with the bride, whilst others should not dress in the same colour as the bride. You don't want to be mistaken for the bride, nor to rival her.
When going to a new country, try to sort this out in advance. When a family is preparing for a wedding or funeral, you often cannot get through by phone.
Especially with mixed-nationality marriages, for example, a couple who met at work when both were lonely at an overseas posting, they have gone to another country for a first or second wedding reception with the parents of one side or another. I have been to three weddings in Singapore, Chinese-Indian and Chinese-Italian, Chinese-New Zealand, which incorporated traditions from two cultures. They might hold three ceremonies, whilst holding a third wedding for colleagues in the country where you met them.
Wearing Suitable Funeral Clothes
In the UK you are safer wearing either black or a dark colour such as navy. In case the immediately family are in solid black, others not, you might wear a contrasting colour scarf. The same applies as for weddings, that the immediate family are too upset to talk and a third party is giving out the information and hard to contact, so the earlier you can ask, the better.
If you have a car, you can take an alternative jacket.
Useful Websites
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5443881/Bollywood-legend-Sridevi-mourned-fans-Mumbai.html
and for permission to copy photos see Wikipedia.
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com (See Wikipedia.)
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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