Funerals around the world are marked by a many traditions and rituals. Funeral offers a chance to the relatives of the deceased to pray for him and learn to cope with their loss and sorrow.
Christian funerals follow the rites of the Church. However, as there are over 200 different Christian community offshoots, there are various differences in the way the funeral services are conducted by each community.
The first significant ritual in a Christian funeral is the wake, which is conducted before the real funeral ceremony and where the deceased is watched the whole night and psalms are read to pray for the departed soul. As per the present day rituals, this is when the family and acquaintances pay a last visit to the deceased and offer their final respects. The body is either kept at the house or at Church and the duration of paying visit is decided according to prescribed norms. In olden days, the dead person used to be absolved of his sins of this birth by performing the ritual of absolution after wake. This included placing a cross on the departed's body and offertory in the casket, where presents were kept.
The following stage is the actual service itself in which the deceased is put into a hearse and brought to the Church, where the priests and others recite prayers and hymns from the Holy Bible. This is then followed by the clergy requesting one of the friends or a family member to read out a eulogy. Some of the communities follow this by a custom of ringing of the bells, signifying the end of the ceremony. Then the casket with the dead person in it is brought to the burial site for the last set of rituals, known as the burial service which is performed before the dead is buried.
Finally, funeral traditions require a lunch gathering to be organized after the burial service. The main purpose of this tradition is to partake in the grief of the family and help them deal and come to terms with the loss.
Christian funerals follow the rites of the Church. However, as there are over 200 different Christian community offshoots, there are various differences in the way the funeral services are conducted by each community.
The first significant ritual in a Christian funeral is the wake, which is conducted before the real funeral ceremony and where the deceased is watched the whole night and psalms are read to pray for the departed soul. As per the present day rituals, this is when the family and acquaintances pay a last visit to the deceased and offer their final respects. The body is either kept at the house or at Church and the duration of paying visit is decided according to prescribed norms. In olden days, the dead person used to be absolved of his sins of this birth by performing the ritual of absolution after wake. This included placing a cross on the departed's body and offertory in the casket, where presents were kept.
The following stage is the actual service itself in which the deceased is put into a hearse and brought to the Church, where the priests and others recite prayers and hymns from the Holy Bible. This is then followed by the clergy requesting one of the friends or a family member to read out a eulogy. Some of the communities follow this by a custom of ringing of the bells, signifying the end of the ceremony. Then the casket with the dead person in it is brought to the burial site for the last set of rituals, known as the burial service which is performed before the dead is buried.
Finally, funeral traditions require a lunch gathering to be organized after the burial service. The main purpose of this tradition is to partake in the grief of the family and help them deal and come to terms with the loss.
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