Death and Culture - Customs

Customs

Further information: Veneration of the dead and Festival of the Dead

Death's finality and the relative lack of firm scientific understanding of its processes for most of human history have led to many different traditions and cultural rituals for dealing with death and remembrance. Some superstitions include: If you don't hold your breath while going by a graveyard, you will not be buried; a bird in the house is a sign of a death; and many more. A widely held custom is shutting the eyes of the deceased. In some cultures, the deceased's house was destroyed or burned; in other cultures, the doors and windows were left open to cleanse the house (and allow the spirit to escape.)

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Famous quotes containing the word customs:

    “So easy is it, though many housekeepers doubt it, to establish new and better customs in the place of the old.”
    —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    “O Kate, nice customs curtsy to great kings. Dear Kate, you
    and I cannot be confined within the weak list of a country’s
    fashion. We are the makers of manners, Kate.”
    —William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    “Change often makes accepted customs into crimes.”
    —Mason Cooley (b. 1927)