There are lot of customs and traditions that govern funerals throughout the world. Funeral offers a chance to the family of the deceased to pray for him and come to terms with their loss and sorrow.
Christian funerals are performed according to the Church rules. However, there are over 200 different factions of Christianity that have their own different customs and rituals relating to the funeral service.
The first most important tradition in a Christian funeral is the wake, which is held before the actual funeral service and where the dead is watched the whole night and Biblical psalms are recited to pray for the dead. As per the present day customs, this is when the family and acquaintances pay a last visit to the deceased and offer their final respects. The body is preserved and kept either inside a Church or at the house, and the time is specified. In old times, the wake was succeeded by the ritual of absolution, which involved purgation of the person of all his or her sins in the present life, and placing a cross on the chest and performing the ritual of offertory where people placed gifts in the casket.
Then comes the actual service itself, where the dead is first transported to the Church in a vehicle and prayers from the Bible are recited and prayers are sung in the church. Then, the priest calls upon a friend or family member to give a eulogy or tribute to the departed’s life. Some communities have chiming of the bells as a part of the proceedings that signifies the end of service. Then the casket with the dead person in it is brought to the burial place for the last set of rituals, called the burial service which precedes the burying.
Finally, funeral traditions need a lunch gathering to be held after the burial service. The main purpose of this custom is to partake in the grief of the family and support them so that they can come to terms with the loss.
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