Done with the eulogy? Bring out the strippers!

When we first heard stories of people burning paper condoms at funerals for their dead relatives, we were a little creeped out. OK, maybe more than a little. But, just when things couldn’t seem to get any weirder, they did. Burning paper condoms? Fuggedaboutit! How about some hot, live striptease action at the service? Cyndi, Bambi and Randi (or whatever their Chinese equivalents are) gyrating their young, supple flesh over grandpa Zhang’s cold, dead body. What a great sendoff -- just as grandpa had always wanted. As usual, Shanghai Daily has the skinny:

Farmers in a small Jiangsu town (Donghai/东海) host strippers at their funerals to attract larger crowds, China Central Television reported the unique custom on Monday.

The local people believe that the more people gathered at a funeral, the more luck it will bring to the family and offspring. So some families hire striptease troupes to attract more people, the report said.

Some strippers even take off the trousers of male viewers and persuade them to join in the dancing, while others bathe in public or perform nude with snakes.

Sounds like a whale of a good time, or snake in this case. People have always said that the last rites ought to be a celebration of the deceased's life. Shanghaiist can’t think of a more festive approach. Besides, just because you’re dead doesn’t mean the whole village has to stop partying. No word whether one kuai bills were handed out to revelers mourners, although that probably wouldn’t have been appropriate ... but who knows?

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