Sympathy flowers in Fremont

A sympathy order in Fremont starts with a question about tradition, not about flowers. This is one of the most religiously layered cities of its size in the country, and what belongs at a service here changes street by street. Catholic families gather for a vigil or rosary the evening before and a funeral Mass the next morning, often at Old Mission San Jose on Mission Boulevard — the 1797 mission church that gives the whole district its name — or at the parish churches along Fremont Boulevard; standing sprays and easel pieces go to the chapel before the vigil, and casket work is arranged with the family directly. Sikh families, who make Fremont home to one of the largest gurdwaras in North America on Gurdwara Road, hold the antam sanskar with cremation and kirtan, and flowers are conventionally sent to the family home rather than to the gurdwara. Muslim families, including the large Afghan American community centered on the Centerville stretch of Fremont Boulevard known as Little Kabul, bury quickly — often inside a day — with the janazah prayer and a fateha gathering afterward, so timing is the whole problem and modest arrangements to the home are the norm. Hindu families cremate within a few days, and white flowers and marigold work carry the meaning. Chinese and Taiwanese families favor white and yellow chrysanthemum; red is avoided. Filipino Catholic families frequently keep a nine-evening novena, which means a second, later arrangement is common and welcome. Jewish families, including the congregation on Paseo Padre Parkway, generally prefer a plant sent to a shiva home or a donation in lieu of flowers.