What is your culture's response to death?

Question

I don't want to be morbid here but I would be interested in hearing about your experiences of death and funeral traditions.  Do you hold mournful ceremonies for those who have died, or do you have a celebration of their life?  Are you expected to do certain things, spend a lot of money, follow traditions?  Or are there many different ways of dealing with this in your culture? Does a funeral happen on a set date?

Cookie · Accepted Answer

sometimes and somewhere,it's a taboo to say death,but it's a natural, and a lots of conventions ,even in the the same place there are differet conventions.
usually, when a person died there of cause a mournful ceremonies. and a funeral will be hold.
and there are seven septenary days called first seven, secone seven,third seven...till seventh seven, to sacrifice the people who died, and in every seventh day, friends and relatives will come to kotow something like that.
what about yours?

Badasstronaut · Answer

I consider myself a regular christian man. I have never really become very religious until recently when my little sister asked where people go when they die. Do people just not exist when then die, forgotten by an aging world, remembered only by loved ones? Or do they live on? Einstein said that energy continues forever. Does our energy continue forever?

Sharann · Answer

Hi Badasstronaut,
My bestfriend died 6 years ago, and his little brother asked me the same question as your sister. The only thing I said was that.
We don't know what will happened then, but yes, there's something. I don not believe that when you die there's nothing else then. It must have something. Whatever the religion we can have. Yes we can say the energy stillgoes on. I told him that his brother will be on his side forever.

Vong · Answer

In some Asian country, there is a tradition for the death of old people, which is called comedy funeral.
In some places of China, especially in the north, if the people is died in 70s (or 80s) years old, his or her offsprings think the death is a comedy. In the funeral, the offsprings may not cry. Since in their mind, they feel the parent has been raised to the sky, and he or she will enjoy a wonderful life in another life.

Eagle · Answer

Hi,
In India there are several customes and traditons.
In Hindus itself we have two traditions . One for the Aryasmaj way and the other the Vedic way.
The Vedic way has 13 days of mourning. After the dead body is cremeted(burned on wood), in the second day of cremetion we collect the ashes in a pot and give it in to river. The one who had done the rituals of cremetion has to be on fruits for 7 days without shaving or cutting nails or hairs. Normally these 13 days some special rituals are performed, like giving water to a particular tree where a pot (sybolising the one who has left the world). On 13th day food is served for the whole comunity.

The same thing goes for Aryasmaj followers but its restricted to 4 days with changes in rituals.
Then there are other rituals for the Muslims here and the Christians and ofcourse the Sikh.

I don't know much about Islamic and Christian rituals, but it should be the same that is all over in the world for other Islam followers and Christians.

Khoff · Answer

In Jewish tradition there are several distinct stages of mourning. Although these traditions are very old, I think they correspond very well to what we now know about psychological stages of grieving. There are many detailed regulation for each stage, which modern Jews might observe more or less rigorously according to their inclination. Here are just a few that stand out in my mind:
From the time of death to the burial, the body is never left alone. One does not attempt to comfort the mourners during this period. The burial is held as soon as possible - traditionally within 24 hours, although now a delay of a day or two is often allowed to permit the arrival of relatives who have to travel to the funeral.
At the funeral, the mourners (strictly defined as parents, siblings, children or spouses of the deceased) rend their garments, and participate in symbolically shovelling dirt over the coffin.
After the funeral, a period called "Shiva" begins (literally, "seven"). It traditionally lasts for seven days unless interrupted by certain religious holidays. The mourners do not leave the house of mourning except to go the the synagogue on the Sabbath. All the mirrors in the house are covered, and the mourners sit on low benches. Friends and relatives come, bring food and offer consolation, and provide the quorum needed for daily prayer services, which take place in the house of mourning. During this period the mourners refrain from levity, entertainment, conducting business, wearing new clothing, shaving, and various other activities. A special candle is lit that lasts the entire seven days.
Certain restrictions are observed for one month after the funeral, and, for a parent or child, for one year. During this period the mourner would traditionally go to the synagogue every day (or, in less traditional communities, as often as practical) to recite the traditional mourner's prayer during the daily service. This provides a sympathetic community who will recognize the status of the mourner long after his friends and colleagues might expect him to "get over it." I am currently partway through this period of mourning for my father, which is why I have this so much on my mind. Personally I have found the traditional rituals to be very conforting.
-- Jackie (also known as khoff)

Fenerbahçeli · Answer

In Turkey, when someone is died who is washed by him/her family. All of the guests who come for funeral read kuran. before corpse is burried,  mourner perform the ritual players. later the body of dead is burried by only male (women don't go) some of the mourner pray evenings during seven days.

Semsettintabur · Answer

Hi nona
I'm Turkish and live in turkey. I should say that I am a muslim. As turks and muslims, I can say thay we are different from people of the world. We believe in *** accordingly we believe that death comes from Him,almighty. So anything,coming from him should be welcomed so as possible as we try to behave so.
Besides SUFISM will reply your question in another aspect if you try to resarch on it. A man,called Sufi regard death as a means of reaching *** again. Again I said because we believe we all come from *** and we will return Him also.
Take care With Blue

Leandro_tami · Answer

Hi nona. Well I think our funeral ceremonies are, in general, very simple, but this of course varies according to people. As someone from the middle class I assisted to only one funeral in my life but I think most of them are the same. The corpse is moved to a funeral parlor where it is cleaned and put into the coffin. Then the family reunites in a room in the same location (in contrast with holding the funeral in your own house)... friends arrive... until everyone leaves the place or the day after the death arrives. Then it is moved in a special car to the cemetery, followed by the relatives and friends in different cars. When the coffin arrives to the cemetery it is put into the grave, which is not very deep (in fact they are often less than one meter deep). The relatives take a handful of dirt and throw it into the grave, and when everyone did it it is finally completely covered using a shovel.
In public cemeteries, the corpses are usually left from 5 to 10 years. Then the coffin is removed and burned, and the bones are stored in a special building inside the cemetery. In private cemeteries they are usually left there until the relatives stop paying it. Then it is transferred to a public cemetery. There is not such thing as real perpetuity. I guess that if you want that you should arrange everything so you're buried inside a hidden forest in a high valley!

In these ceremonies, the only religious sign I've seen is a metal polished crucifix in the casket's cover. If you go to church then you may ask the priest to say a few words, but that's all. What we DON'T do is organizing parties or organizing a big meeting were people talks about the dead person. I never seen a priest reading the Bible near the coffin as in the movies, or things like that. Funerals are very sad events even if you're religious, people often wants to be alone, pray in private and not being disturbed by many people.

Anonymous · Answer

Good morning..

Well I think its important question that why our friends were taking from us? There is some thing will happen to go other place where our energy be infinity and forever, and I think when the persons has same creating, so the predestination will be once..

As Fenerbahçeli and semsettintabur said, case of death is not that big problem(especially to ask why) because we have clearly viewing about what will happen..

In Islamic ritual don’t take a lot of days, they wearied the died person glave-clothes(almost white) after washing him/her by her/his family, then they pray on him without genuflected, when they stand up as regular prayer, they ask Allah to forgive him/her, then they bury the person, and ask Allah to be steady and surely when the two angels ask him about his/her faith.

Then they back to their home, of course they would be sad, the mourning is 3 days for every one except the wife if her husband died, her mourning must be about 4 months..

Interested to know about your ways, may Allah bless every one you've ever loved him, and I too.

What is your culture's response to death?

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