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The Significance Of Christian Funerals

Death is part of the wheel of life. Nonetheless, if this is the case, we still cannot help but feel grief whenever someone who is very dear to us dies. A closure rite should be done. Funeral services serve as rituals of letting go and saying goodbye.

A funeral can either be a State or a family ceremony, and it is conducted in the remembrance of the deceased person. It entails a number of customs and rites that are specific to the religion of the dead person.

A majority of Christian funerals have rituals that are categorized into three essential parts – visitation, funeral and burial. The visitation and funeral rituals have a lot more importance according to the religious aspects and they are discussed here.

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The first part is the visitation, when the body is placed in a casket for public viewing by relatives and other people in the gathering. The body is dressed up in the best clothes and any jewels that belonged to the departed. Some cultures need anointing the body for the visitation, while others don’t.

Visitation often includes a visual display of pictures of the deceased by the family members or a display of articles that were valued by the departed during his lifetime. Some families also like to do a video or slideshow from the deceased’s lifetime.

The visitation is followed by the second part of rituals, which is the memorial service, also called funeral, and it is carried out in a church. The coffin is then brought to the church in a hearse and the family and friends of the departed follow the vehicle. The coffin is placed in the church with an elegant floral arrangement on it.

The service usually involves reciting lines from the Bible or the Holy Scriptures and offering prayers for the departed. Religious songs are also sung in chorus by the attendees. This is followed by a comforting speech delivered by the priest presiding over the proceedings of the funeral and eulogies by the family and friends, who then fondly recollect the deceased and his life. Sometimes, attendees are allowed to see the deceased for the last time before it is taken for burial. Church bells may be chimed both before the service and after it.

Once the first two parts of the ceremony are complete, the body is taken into a cortege for burial that forms the last phase of the rituals.

Death is a sensitive time. After all, funeral present the family with a need to transition into moving on with life. Get the best caskets for your loved one’s burial. Free reprint avaialable from: The Significance Of Christian Funerals.