Funeral Rituals

Religion and culture teaches rituals that family must follow for the preparation of the body for the burial and the funeral service. In some cultures, the wake and time for mourning is a quick process, in others, it can take several weeks before they bury the body. Death is the end, some cultures rejoice others mourn, but between all cultures and religions, it is a time to remember the one who died. The Chinese, Hindu, and Jewish cultures have special requirements guaranteeing the deceased a peaceful passage to the afterlife. Each culture covers up or removes mirrors within the home to prevent problems for friends and family. The Chinese believe that if a person sees the coffin’s reflection in a mirror, that death will occur to someone …show more content…
The Chinese wipe off the bodies, cover them with talcum powder, and dress them in their best attire and burn the rest of their clothing. Once dressed the family places a yellow cloth on their face and a light blue one over their body and then place the body into a coffin. Hindus wash the body on the deceased’s back porch, if available, by same gender members of the family with the blessed water of the kumbhas, and then they cover the body in white cloth and place it into a coffin. In contrast, Jews have a volunteer group that washes the deceased’s body, then they dress the body in white cloth and place in a coffin, if one is being …show more content…
Chinese and Hindus hold their funerals in the deceased’s home as long as the deceased in Chinese culture is an elder, otherwise the service occurs at a funeral parlor. Jews have their funerals in a funeral home. Each religion sings, chants, or prays for the deceased throughout the funeral process. The Chinese and Jews, both bury their dead while the Hindus believe in cremation. A funeral for a Chinese person varies based on their wealth and the daughter pays for it. During the wake, visitors donate money to show their respect and to help assist with funeral costs. In Hindu funerals, only men go to the crematory where the oldest son performs a ritual circling the body three times, each time a family member hits a kumbha knocking a hole in it, releasing water signifying the soul leaving the body. Twelve hours later the men return to gather the ashes to spread in the Ganges river, or the family spreads the ashes in a local significant river. As the Jewish family members enter the funeral home, they rip the clothing covering their heart to give a visual for the pain and suffering they feel inside, and the final step in accepting death is for the family to shovel dirt over the body. A funeral is the last goodbye and represents the end of the earthly