Funerals As Done In Various Faith Systems
Dying is an unavoidable part of human existence. It is part of the cycle of life. When a person dies, others are left behind to grieve for the person’s passing away. The role of the religious affiliation for the people who are left behind is to perform a ritual of letting go. This rite of letting go is what is known as the funeral.
Funerals around the world are performed by following several traditions, rites and rituals. It is at the funerals that the near and dear ones finally accept the fate and pray for the departed’s soul.
Christian funerals are governed by the Church rules. However, considering the fact that there are over 200 denominations of Christian communities, the traditions can vary according to the particular affiliation of the family.
An important ceremony of a Christian funeral, called wake, is the very first ritual that is performed before the real funeral and involves a nightly watch over the dead person and recital of Biblical psalms for the eternal peace of his soul. In present days, this is the moment when relatives and close friends can see and pay respects to the dear departed for the last time. The body is either kept at the house or at Church and the time of paying visit is decided according to prescribed norms. In old times, the wake was followed by absolution, which involved purgation of the person of all his or her sins in the present life, and laying a cross on the chest and performing the ritual of offertory where people placed gifts in the casket.
Then comes the actual service itself, where the dead is first carried to the Church in a hearse and prayers from the Bible are recited and prayers are sung in the church. Then, the clergy calls upon a friend or family member to give a public eulogy in honour of the deceased. Some of the Christian communities follow this by a ritual of ringing of the bells, signifying the end of the service. Following the funeral service, the casket is carried to the burial place where a burial service is held before the act of burial.
Finally, the family members organize a lunch for the friends, relatives and acquaintances who are attending the funeral. The prime objective of this custom is to share the grief of the aggrieved family and help them cope with the descended fate.
Dealing with providers of casket and funeral needs can be difficult for people who are closest to the deceased person. Tips on how to choose the appropriate funeral services for your deceased loved ones can be found in this website.
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