Funeral foodies

Many cultures, especially in Latin America and Italy, believe that wearing red underwear on New Year’s Eve attracts love and passion in the coming year.

Actress Vina Morales revealed in an episode of Fast Talk with Boy Abunda last month that she did a similar ritual during her family’s New Year celebration in Bangkok in the hope of finding a boyfriend.

The single actress told the celebrity talk show host Abunda that she also ate grapes under a table while in her undies, believing the ritual would help her find a relationship.

Meanwhile, there is nothing superstitious about a funeral home in China serving noodle dishes to grieving families and non-mourners.

The canteen of Erlong Funeral Home in Kaili city, Guizhou province, serves delicious spicy chicken, pig’s trotters, mixed meat, and minced pork noodles for 10 yuan per bowl, The Straits Times (TST) reports. The food is so good that there is a long line of diners ordering it.

As it took diners two long hours to get their orders because of the long queue, the funeral home later offered 50 free bowls to outsiders with the condition that they don’t bother the mourners.

The move was prompted by people coming to the place pretending to be mourners just so they could try the good noodles, according to TST.

“There have been people pretending to be relatives of the deceased; it’s hard to tell them apart when it gets crowded, and it’s hard to manage,” an unnamed worker told TST.

The noodles became popular in February 2025 after some social media users posted about them, TST reports. WJG @tribunephl_wjg