Why do many rural elderly people make coffins in advance when they are old?

My grandparents live in the country. When I went back to visit him on National Day, I was really shocked to see two coffins painted red in the woodshed in the side room. Grandparents are in good health and young. They are all under 70 years old. Why are you making coffins now? I asked my grandfather suspiciously. He hit me on the head with his heavy pipe and said, "This is called Shoucai". Then he took a deep breath and told me the reason slowly.

First, there is no coffin shop, and it takes a long time to make coffins.

In the past, the conditions of the rural elderly were very poor in their time. There are few coffin shops in rural areas, and even if there are, there is not much inventory. You even have to go to a coffin shop in town to buy coffins.

But if several old people die at the same time, the coffin shop will not have enough inventory. If there is no ready-made coffin, it will take several days to make it, and it will cost more money to catch it.

Moreover, the specifications and decorations of coffins vary greatly; For example, coffin boards have many specifications, such as three inches thick, four inches thick, five inches thick and so on. The exterior of the coffin, the sculptor who carved it, the color of the paint, and so on. They are all exquisite. As a long-lived material, wood needs to be dried, otherwise it will be easily deformed and heavy, and it will not be completed for a while.

Carpenters, painters, etc. They are all craftsmen in the countryside, and they are not necessarily at home, and they are not necessarily free at home.

There was no anti-corrosion technology at that time. In summer, the smell comes out before the coffin is ready. No one can predict when he will die. If he is afraid that he can't buy a coffin then, he can only do it in advance.

Life-saving wood that has not been painted.

Second, avoid children quarreling about their own affairs.

A pair of longevity materials was very expensive in the former countryside. Even in the Qing dynasty, some people used longevity materials as home decoration for their daughters to get married, which is not inappropriate, so it is enough to show the value of a pair of longevity materials!

Generally speaking, finished coffins will be placed in unimportant rooms such as wooden sheds to avoid hitting the gods.

But some old people will put coffins in their bedrooms, which sounds scary.

That's because these old people believe in the concept of "collecting footprints" and they have special considerations.

Some people have had this experience. At night, when they sleep in the bedroom, they will be awakened by the sound.

I hear footsteps in the dining room and living room at home, and sometimes I hear someone turning chopsticks.

Many rural elderly people think that this is the soul of a dying person and go to the place where he used to go to "collect footprints". The person who "collects footprints" will go to places frequented by relatives and friends, and even find the dishes and chopsticks he used when he was a guest.

The last stop of "collecting souls" is the coffin used for this person's funeral.

If the coffin is made in advance, it will open and make a sound when collecting footprints.

This sound will wake up the sleeping old man, and the old man will see a soul that looks exactly like himself.

At this time, the old man knew that his birthday was only three days away.

So, he can calmly call relatives and friends to say goodbye, then explain his own affairs, and finally take a shower and change clothes, waiting for death.

Why do some people wait until they die before telling their own stories? This is actually very helpless.

Many old people's children are unfilial and try their best to calculate their money.

Some old people can't resist sweet talk and distribute their savings to their children early.

However, these unfilial children cheated the old man out of his money and stopped supporting him.

The old man can only die tragically from poverty and illness, and no one knows when he died.

Some old people know that their children are unfilial and are afraid that such a thing will happen to them.

I hid my savings, such as jewelry and silver dollars,

Until the end of his life, he told his children to distribute more to the most filial children.

These unfilial children are thinking about the savings that the old man hasn't taken out yet.

Don't be too hard on the elderly, so as not to offend them and take less property.

However, many times, the old man left in a hurry and died without telling his children.

This is normal in remote mountain villages without hospitals and doctors.

Many people have buried their predecessors under the floor, in the interlayer of the wall and dug up their belongings in the backyard.

Unfortunately, the old man's life savings were not given to his unfilial children, but he still loved him deeply.

Old people don't want to spend all their savings before they die, and they don't want their children to get an inheritance after they die. This is a bit tangled. If only they knew when they would die.

Some old people believe in collecting footprints, so they do it.

I think I can know when I will die.

In the countryside, long-lived wood has long been prepared.

That's good.

Save the unfilial children from arguing over who pays for the coffin and what grade of coffin to buy.

We don't think coffins are expensive now, but in the past, there were many scenes where we couldn't afford coffins and sold ourselves to bury our parents.

Sometimes, in order to save money for coffins, there really is a mat and two door panels, so they are hastily buried.

If you make the coffin in advance, you can avoid what the unfilial son did and make the neighbors laugh.

That generation of rural elderly people have experienced too many ups and downs, and the world is cold, so I want to understand. Therefore, I have already made plans to leave a tacit dignity for myself and my family.