Death is an inescapable part of human existence. Dying is a part of the cycle of life. In death, someone departs and another gets left behind. The role of the faith system for the people who are left behind is to perform a rite of relinquishing. The funeral is the rite that permits people to deal with their loved one’s demise.
There are many rituals and traditions that govern funerals across the world. Funeral offers an opportunity to the family of the deceased person to pray for his soul and learn to cope with their loss and sorrow.
Church rules govern funeral rites in Christian communities. However, as there are over 200 different communities of Christians, there are many differences in the manner in which the funeral services are organized by each community.
The first and foremost custom in a Christian funeral that is organized before the actual service is held relates to assembling around the deceased for a night and chanting prayers for the departed soul. This important tradition is known as wake. According to present-day standards, this is the moment when relatives and acquaintances can see and pay respects to the dear departed for the last time. The body is either kept at the residence or at Church and the duration of paying visit is fixed according to prescribed norms. In earlier days, the stage following the wake used to be that of absolution, where a cross was put on the deceased’s body and offertory, which held the gifts offered by visitors, and the deceased was absolved of the sins of this birth.
Then comes the real service itself, where the dead is first carried to the Church in a vehicle and prayers from the Holy Bible are said and prayers are sung in the church. This is then followed by the clergy requesting one of the friends or a family member to read out a eulogy. In some cases funeral rituals include the ringing of bells to signify the end of the service. Once the funeral service is over, the casket with the deceased is carried to the burial site and burial service is held before the final burial.
Lastly, funeral traditions require a lunch gathering to be organized 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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