A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, respecting, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor. Customs vary widely between cultures, and between religious affiliations within cultures.
The word funeral comes from the Latin funus, which had a variety of meanings, including the corpse and the funerary rites themselves. Funerary art is art produced in connection with burials, including many kinds of tombs, and objects specially made for burial with a corpse.
Read more about Funeral: Overview, Funerals in Japan, East Asian Funerals, Ancient Funeral Rites, Mutes and Professional Mourners, State Funeral, Final Disposition of The Dead, Control By The Decedent of The Details of The Funeral, Anatomical Gifts
Famous quotes containing the word funeral:
“Up, black, striped and damasked like the chasuble
At a funeral mass, the skunk’s tail
Paraded the skunk.”
—Seamus Heaney (b. 1939)
“I asked if I got sick and died, would you
With my black funeral go walking too,
If you’d stand close to hear them talk or pray
While I’m let down in that steep bank of clay.”
—J.M. (John Millington)
“Suddenly, she wasn’t drunk anymore. Her hand was steady and she was cool. Like somebody making funeral arrangements for a murder not yet committed.”
—John Paxton (1911–1985)