Funeral Superstitions in Singapore: What People Believe, and Why

These beliefs are real, still practised by many Singaporean Chinese families, and worth understanding rather than dismissing, whether or not you personally believe any of it. Some come from genuine folklore with centuries of history behind them. Others are more recent, practical customs that picked up superstitious explanations along the way. This isn't a checklist you need to memorise before attending a wake, it's here so that if you see something unusual, you understand why, instead of feeling awkward or asking at the wrong moment.

This is one of the oldest and most widely known Chinese funeral superstitions, and it's genuinely still taken seriously by many families today. The belief: if a cat, especially a black cat, jumps over a coffin or a corpse, the body can reanimate as a jiangshi, a stiff, hopping corpse-creature from Chinese folklore, sometimes translated loosely as a "hopping vampire." Families traditionally kept the coffin under constant watch specifically to prevent this, which is part of why an overnight vigil has real cultural roots beyond just physical security, some families still arrange one specifically for this reason.

Whether or not anyone believes a cat could actually cause this, the custom of keeping the coffin watched and animals away has simply persisted as standard practice at most Chinese wakes in Singapore.

During a Chinese wake, mirrors in the home are often covered or removed, and any household deity statues are covered with red cloth for the duration. The belief behind the mirror: seeing a coffin's reflection is thought to invite another death in the family soon after. The belief behind covering deities: it's considered inappropriate to expose the deceased or the coffin directly to the gods before the proper rites have been completed. Both practices are still common in HDB void deck wakes today, and if you notice a mirror covered with cloth or paper, this is why.

Red is the colour of celebration and happiness in Chinese culture, which is exactly why it's avoided at funerals, the opposite occasion. Guests are expected to wear black, white, navy, or other muted colours. This is covered in more practical detail at What to Wear to a Funeral Singapore.

The genuine exception: for someone who passed at an advanced age, traditionally 80 or above, some families consider the funeral a celebration of a long, complete life, and red or pink touches become acceptable, even encouraged, in that specific context. If you're ever unsure which situation applies, it's always safe to default to muted colours unless a family member tells you otherwise.

Common parting phrases like "goodbye" or "see you again" are traditionally avoided when speaking to the bereaved family, because they're heard as carrying an unwelcome implication, anticipating or inviting a future funeral. This isn't really about the literal words, it's about the superstition that speech itself can shape what happens next. A quiet, sincere expression of condolence, or simply your presence, carries more weight than any specific phrase. For more on what actually works, see What to Say at a Funeral Singapore.

At the point the coffin lid is closed, family and friends present are traditionally expected to turn their backs rather than watch directly. The belief: the soul of anyone who witnesses the sealing can become trapped alongside the deceased. This moment is usually announced clearly by the funeral director or officiant beforehand, so nobody is caught off guard, it's simply worth knowing why people turn away if you see it happen.

Loud noises, gongs, cymbals, chanting, are traditionally believed to help drive away evil spirits during the funeral procession, which is part of why Buddhist and Taoist funerals can sound more intense than a quiet Western-style service. Some older families also hold that louder, more visible expressions of grief from daughters-in-law and close blood relatives are a sign of respect, historically even linked to a belief that greater visible grief reflected greater wealth left behind by the deceased. This varies enormously by family today, and there's no expectation that visitors participate in this, it's simply something you may witness and shouldn't misread as excessive.

A death occurring close to Chinese New Year or other major celebrations is traditionally considered especially inauspicious, and some families will delay funeral proceedings rather than hold one during the festive period itself. This isn't universal, and practical constraints (venue and vendor availability during a peak period) often factor in just as much as the superstition itself, but it's a real reason families sometimes ask to push a date.

None of these beliefs are something I ask families to follow, and none of them change what a funeral actually costs or how it's arranged, that's handled the same way regardless. But when a family does want to observe one, or several, of these customs, it matters to get it right, quietly and without fuss, rather than treating it as a curiosity. If you're planning a funeral and unsure which of these your own family actually still observes, that's a completely normal thing to be unsure about, and worth asking an elder directly rather than guessing from an article like this one.