Typically, a Buddhist wake lasts 1 to 7 days, depending on the family's preference. Some families opt for a shorter one-day ceremony, while others hold multi-day wakes to allow for more prayer sessions and visits from relatives and friends. Majority of the Singapore population usually have funeral wakes for an average of 3 to 5 days. Odd number and not even number of wake days are usually conducted for Chinese funerals. Our experienced funeral directors will assist in booking of the wake venue, be it at a void deck or at a funeral parlour so as to ensure that you have the needed time and space to grief while you leave all the execution of the funeral to us.

It is highly recommended to invite monks to perform chanting services. Chanting helps calm the spirit and generates merit for the deceased. All our funeral packages already come with Reverend Buddhist Monks who can help in the chanting sessions. Chanting is normally done upon the body's arrival at the wake venue on the first day, on the final night of the funeral and lastly on the final day at the wake venue before heading to the crematorium or burial ground. There will be monk chanting at the crematorium or burial ground as well to lay the soul to rest.

Yes, in Buddhist funerals, the food offerings and meals served during the wake to the decedent are typically strictly vegetarian to cultivate compassion and avoid harm to living beings.

The main rituals conducted during a Buddhist funeral in Singapore include sutra chanting sessions led by monks, the offering of lights, flowers, incense, and fruits, as well as a final prayer service before cremation or burial. Families also dedicate merits for the deceased, and depending on the Buddhist tradition, additional rites such as bathing ceremonies or walking around the casket in prayer may be performed to honour the departed.

Guests should dress modestly and respectfully. White, beige, or somber colours (like grey or light blue) are appropriate. Avoid bright colours like red, and avoid flashy jewellery. Lower attire should also be of a length that surpass the knee.

Yes. Non-Buddhists are welcome to attend. It is a time for everyone to show respect to the departed and offer support to the grieving family. Simply observe silence during prayers and follow general etiquette.

Many Buddhist families observe post-funeral rites such as the 7th day memorial, 49th day prayers, and 100th day ceremonies. These rituals help the deceased’s soul transition peacefully. Our team of dedicated funeral directors will send you reminders on these special memorial dates so as to ensure that these are not forgotten. We will also have a guidebook as to what to expect and what to do on these occasions.

You may have noticed that funeral service prices in Singapore can vary significantly — even when the services offered appear to be largely the same. At Harmony Funeral Care, we believe in being transparent about why our pricing structure offers true value for money without compromising on quality.

Here’s why:

Unlike many providers, we do not act as a middleman. We don’t outsource or subcontract essential services such as embalming, body care, or setup logistics. Everything is managed in-house — from the moment your loved one comes into our care, until the final farewell.

We are proud to operate our own fully equipped embalming care centre, staffed by both trained male and female embalmers. This allows us to maintain the highest standards of dignity, respect, and professionalism, while keeping costs under control.

By keeping operations internal and direct, we eliminate unnecessary third-party markups. This enables us to pass the savings on to you — the families we serve — without compromising the care and respect your loved one deserves.

That said, we are also not the cheapest provider, and for good reason. We refuse to cut corners or lower our service standards just to offer rock-bottom prices. Our focus is on providing exceptional value, with a balance of affordability and uncompromised quality.

With us, what you see is what you get — transparent pricing, professional care, and heartfelt service.

A direct cremation is the simplest form of honouring your loved one and is a good alternative to consider if you have a very tight budget to work with. Our Buddhist direct cremation packages start from only $1,380 and is specially designed that way to keep things affordable.

All you need to prepare are two items - (1) a set of clothes including inner garments, shoes and dentures for the deceased with the exclusion of red colour and (2) a photograph for us to edit and enlarge for use at the altar table during the Buddhist funeral. All the other preparations will be done by us so that you can have a peace of mind to handle the more important things.

Yes, certainly you can and a lot of families actually do so in recent years. The most common way of doing this is to burn paper products while holding a Buddhist funeral. Some families even have us invite the Taoist Priest to conduct prayers on certain nights.

In the past, burials used to be the preferred choice of body disposal for most but this has changed to cremations in Singapore especially since we are land-scarce. Some older people holding extremely traditional beliefs still prefer burials as they fear that the deceased's soul is still in the body even after the funeral wake.

Whether it is better to have embalming done on a decedent depends largely on whether the body is to viewed by visitors. If the body is meant for viewing, professional embalming is strongly advised. Do take note that embalming does not stop decomposition of the body. It simply helps to slow down the process only. Also, different bodies will react differently to the embalming chemicals. Our professional in-house female and male embalmers will do their best to restore your loved one's look to how he or she was when alive but it is also limited to how the body condition is upon collection.