Friday, January 29, 2010

Funeral Rites And Rituals

By Diane James

Funerals across the world are characterized by a lot of traditions and rituals. It is at the funerals that the loved ones make peace with the fate and pay their respects to the deceased's soul.

Church rules govern funeral rites in Christian communities. However, given the fact that there are over 200 denominations of Christian communities, the rituals can change according to the particular allegiance of the family.

An important ritual of a Christian funeral, called wake, is the first and foremost ritual that is performed before the actual funeral and involves watching over the deceased and recital of prayers for the eternal peace of his soul. According to the present day customs, this is when the family and acquaintances pay a last visit to the dead person and offer homage for the last time. The body is properly preserved and housed either inside a Church or at the residence, and the time is specified. In earlier times, the dead person was sought to be absolved of his sins of this birth by performing the ritual of absolution after wake. This involved placing a cross on the deceased's chest and offertory in the casket, where presents were kept.

Next stage is the real ceremony itself in which the deceased is put into a coach and taken to the Church, where the priests and others chant prayers and hymns from the Bible. Then, the clergy requests a friend or family member to give a eulogy or tribute to the departed's life. Some communities have tolling of the bells as a part of the proceedings that marks the end of ceremony. When the funeral service is over, the casket with the deceased is transported to the burial site and burial service takes place before the body is laid to rest by burying.

Lastly, funeral services need a lunch gathering to be held after the burial service. The main objective of this tradition is to share the sorrow of the family and help them deal and come to terms with the loss.

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