Funerals across the world are marked by a lot of traditions and rituals. It is at the funerals that the near and dear ones make peace with the fate and pay their respects to the departed's soul.
Christian funerals are governed by the Church rules. However, as there are more than 200 different communities of Christians, there are many differences in the way the funeral services are conducted by each community.
The first most important ritual in a Christian funeral is known as the wake, which is conducted before the actual funeral service and where the dead is watched the entire night and Biblical psalms are read to pray for the dead. According to present-day standards, this is the moment when relatives and acquaintances can pay their last respects to the deceased person. The body is carefully preserved and placed either at the residence or in a Chapel with only a particular number of visiting hours. In earlier days, the second stage after wake used to be that of absolution, where a cross was placed on the dead person's chest and offertory, which carried the presents given by visitors, and the person was ritually absolved of the sins committed during his earthly tenure.
Then begins the real ceremony itself, where the deceased is first carried to the Church in a hearse and prayers from the Holy Bible are said and prayers are sung in the church. This is then followed by the clergy asking one of the friends or family to read out a eulogy. Some Christian communities have tolling of the bells as a part of the tradition that marks the end of ceremony. Then the casket with the dead person in it is transported to the burial site for the last set of rituals, known as the burial service which precedes the burying.
Finally, the family members arrange for a lunch for everyone who has attended the funeral. The main objective of this tradition is to share the grief of the family and help them deal and come to terms with the loss.
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