Christian Funerals: Customs And Their Significance

By Francine Mayfield

To a devout Christian, a funeral is a celebration of the soul's journey towards eternal life from thereon. It's the main reason why Christian funeral services are highly spirited because of the belief that the departed has found an eternal home in God's house.

Christians believe that a person's passing is an exit from the mortal world of pain and a way into the world of everlasting bliss. To some degree, the family left behind find relief knowing that their dead relative is with God Himself now, enjoying the happiness heaven offers.

Christian funerals are normally conducted by the pastor. The funeral service generally is conducted at the church which the deceased visited regularly. Though the service does not have a casket usually, but when it is being conducted in a funeral home, casket is usually present. A traditional Christian funeral ceremony does not include public viewing of the deceased at the time of ceremony.

The funeral ceremony is almost like a memorial, in which the proceedings begin with singing of hymns, a vocalist, and readings from the Bible. Then the priest gives a message and the people join in with a mass prayer.

Then the assembled people partake in the sorrow of family members as well as close friends and tell about their personal feelings as to how the deceased has touched their lives and left an everlasting impression in their minds. People nowadays do a slide show of photographs or play a pre-recorded video of the dead person taken during his or her lifetime.

The final phase in the service is that of a brief fellowship reception that is held inside the church itself and some food is served. Normally, people do not go for a graveside service, but some families that make an exception to this.

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