Death is an inescapable part of life. Death is part of the cycle of life. In death, a person passes away and another gets left behind. The role of the religion for the people who are left behind is to perform a rite of letting go. The funeral is the rite that permits individuals to deal with their loved one’s demise.
Funerals across the world are characterized by a number of traditions and rituals. Funeral offers a chance to the family of the deceased to pray for him and learn to cope with their loss and sorrow.
Church rules govern rites of funerals in Christian communities. However, considering the fact that there are over 200 denominations of Christians, the rituals can vary depending on the affiliation of the family.
An important ceremony of a Christian funeral, known as wake, is the first and foremost custom that is carried out before the actual funeral and involves a nightly watch over the deceased and recital of Biblical psalms for the eternal peace of his soul. According to present-day standards, this is the moment when relatives and close friends can pay their last respects to the deceased person. The body is carefully preserved and placed either at the house or inside a Chapel with only a specified number of visiting hours. In earlier days, the second stage after wake used to be that of absolution, where a cross was placed on the deceased’s body and offertory, which held the gifts offered by visitors, and the person was absolved of the sins committed during his earthly tenure.
Next stage is the real ceremony itself in which the dead person is put into a hearse and taken to the Church, where the clergy and others chant prayers and hymns from the Bible. This is then followed by the clergy asking one of the friends or family to read out a eulogy. In certain cases funeral rituals include the ringing of bells to mark the end of the ceremony. After the funeral proceedings, the casket is taken to the burial site where a burial service is held before the act of burial.
Lastly, funeral traditions need a lunch gathering to be organized after the burial service. The main purpose of such rituals is to provide support to the mourning family and assist them to tide over their grief and resign themselves to the fate.
Dealing with providers of caskets 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.