What not to do during a funeral. Request a call back for free
Every person on this earth has two most important events in life - birth and death. Between these two events lies life.
For one person it is long, for another it is short, but in their lives people, as a rule, drive away the thought of death, thinking that they will live forever. But then death comes, and with it the inevitable bitter worries about burying someone dear to you.
Not often, but it happens that a person thinks about his future death and prepares a coffin for himself in advance. Such a product is usually stored in attics. But here there is a small but very significant “but”: the coffin is empty, and since it is made according to a person’s standards, he begins to “pull” it into himself. And a person, as a rule, dies faster. Previously, to prevent this from happening, sawdust, shavings, and grain were poured into an empty coffin. After the death of a person, sawdust, shavings, and grain were also buried in the hole. After all, if you feed a bird with such grain, it will become sick.
When a person has died and measurements are taken from him to make a coffin, under no circumstances should the measurement be placed on the bed. It is best to take it out of the house and put it in a coffin during the funeral.
Be sure to remove all silver objects from the deceased: after all, this is precisely the metal that is used to fight “the unclean.” Therefore, the latter can “disturb” the body of the deceased.
If there is a dead person in the house, do not do laundry. This must be done after the funeral.
When the coffin is being made, relatives and friends are prohibited from participating. It is best to bury the shavings formed during the manufacture of the coffin in the ground, or, in extreme cases, throw them into water.
The bed on which a person died does not need to be thrown away, as many do. Take her and take her out to the chicken coop, let her lie there for three nights, so that, as the legend goes, the rooster will sing her song three times.
When the time comes to place the deceased in a coffin, then they sprinkle holy water on the body of the deceased and his coffin, outside and inside. You can also cover it with incense. The body is then transferred to the coffin. A whisk is placed on the forehead of the deceased. It is given in church when the deceased is brought to the funeral service. The deceased's lips should be closed, his eyes closed, his hands folded crosswise on his chest, the right one on top of the left. A Christian woman’s head is covered with a large scarf that completely covers her hair, and its ends do not need to be tied, but simply folded crosswise. You should not put a tie on a deceased Orthodox Christian. An icon or cross is placed in the left hand of the deceased; for men - the image of the savior, for women - the image of the Mother of God. Or you can do this: in the left hand - a cross, and on the chest of the deceased - a Holy image. A pillow, usually made of cotton wool, is placed under the feet and head of the deceased. The body is covered with a sheet. The coffin is placed in the middle of the room in front of the icons, turning the face of the deceased with his head towards the icons.
When you see a dead person in a coffin, do not automatically touch your body with your hands. This is due to the fact that in the place where you touched your hand, various skin growths in the form of a tumor can grow.
If there is a deceased person in the house, then when meeting your friend or relatives there, you should greet with a bow of the head, and not with your voice.
While the deceased is in the house, the floor should not be swept. If you do not follow this advice, your family members may soon get sick, or worse may happen.
During the funeral, you cannot visit the graves of relatives and friends located in the same cemetery.
The ritual must be completed to completion for one person.
Do not listen to those people who advise placing two needles crosswise on his lips to preserve the body of a deceased person from decomposition. This will not save the body of the deceased, but the needles that were on his lips will definitely disappear; they are used to cause damage.
To prevent a heavy smell from coming from the deceased, you can put a bunch of sage on his head; people call it “cornflowers.” It also serves another purpose - to ward off "evil spirits." For the same purposes, you can use willow branches, which are sacred on Palm Sunday and kept behind the images. These branches can be placed under the deceased.
A man died, his body was placed in a coffin, but the bed on which he died had not yet been taken out. Friends or strangers may come to you and ask you to lie on this bed. The argument put forward is the following: so that their back and bones do not hurt. Don't listen to them. Don't hurt yourself.
Do not put fresh flowers in the coffin of a dead person. For this purpose, use artificial ones or, as a last resort, dried ones.
A candle is lit near the coffin as a sign that the deceased has moved to the realm of light - a better afterlife.
A lamp or candle is lit in the house and burns as long as the deceased is in the house.
Instead of a candlestick, glasses are often used for candles, into which wheat is poured. Some people sprinkle this wheat on others and thereby cause damage. This wheat should also not be used for poultry or livestock feed.
Make sure that someone else's things are not placed under the deceased. If you notice this, then you need to pull them out of the coffin and burn them somewhere away.
It happens that, out of ignorance, some compassionate mothers put photographs of their children in the coffin of their grandparents. After this, the child began to get sick, and if help was not provided in time, death could occur.
You cannot give your things to dress the deceased. The deceased is buried, and the one who gave away his things begins to get sick.
A coffin with a deceased person is taken out of the house, and someone stands near the door and starts tying knots in rags. He explains this operation to people by saying that he is tying knots so that no more coffins will be taken out of this house. Although such a person has something completely different on his mind...
If a pregnant woman goes to a funeral, she will do harm to herself. A sick child may be born. Therefore, try to stay at home during this time, and you need to say goodbye to your loved one in advance - before the funeral.
When a dead person is being carried to a cemetery, do not cross his path under any circumstances, as various tumors may form on your body. If this happens, then you should take the hand of the deceased, always the right one, and move all your fingers over the tumor and read “Our Father.” This needs to be done three times, after each time spitting over your left shoulder.
When they carry a dead man in a coffin down the street, try not to look from the window of your apartment or house.
The ties that bind the hands and feet of the deceased must be untied and placed in the coffin with the deceased. Otherwise, as a rule, they are used to cause damage.
If you say goodbye to the deceased, try not to step on the towel that is placed in the cemetery near the coffin, so as not to damage yourself.
If you are afraid of a dead person, grab the dead person's legs and hold on. This can be done before he is placed in the grave.
Sometimes people can throw earth from a grave in their bosom or collar, proving that this way they can avoid the fear of the dead. Don't believe it - this is done to cause damage.
Returning from a funeral, it is imperative to dust off your shoes before entering the house, and also hold your hands over the fire of a lit candle. This is done in order to prevent damage to the home.
The funeral is over, and according to the old Christian custom, water and something from food are placed in a glass on the table to treat the soul of the deceased.
Make sure that small children or adults do not inadvertently drink from this glass or eat anything. After such a treat, both adults and children begin to get sick.
During the wake, according to tradition, a glass of vodka is poured for the deceased. Don't drink it if anyone advises you to.
There is a dead man on your street, and you urgently need to plant potatoes. Don't waste your time and effort. If you plant potatoes at a time when the deceased has not yet been buried, do not expect a good harvest.
If you come to the grave of a loved one to pull out grass, paint a fence or plant something, you start digging and dig up things that shouldn’t be there. In this case, everything you found must be taken out of the cemetery and burned. When it burns, try not to get exposed to the smoke, otherwise you may get sick yourself.
A funeral on New Year's Day is a very bad omen: in the coming year, there will be a funeral at least once a month.
Sunday's funeral predicts three more funerals throughout the week.
It is dangerous to postpone a funeral for any reason. Then one, two or three deaths in the family or immediate area will occur within a week or a month.
If the funeral is postponed until next week, it is probably unlucky, because the dead person will try his best to take someone with him.
After the funeral, do not visit any of your friends or relatives.
Viburnum is planted in the heads of the graves of young men and women.
For the first seven days from the date of death of the deceased, do not take any things out of the house.
Do not distribute the deceased’s belongings to relatives, friends or acquaintances for up to 40 days.
If one of you has lost a loved one or loved one, and you often cry for him, then it is advised to have thistle grass in your house.
When someone dies, try to have only women present.
If the patient is dying seriously, then for an easier death, remove the feather pillow from under his head. In villages, the dying person is laid on straw.
To ease the agony of death, the patient must be covered with white material, which will later be used to upholster the coffin.
When there is a dead person in the house, you cannot drink water in the neighboring houses in the morning that was in buckets or pans. It must be poured out and freshly poured in.
It is advisable that the washing of the body of the deceased occur during daylight hours - from sunrise to sunset. Water after ablution must be handled very carefully. It is necessary to dig a hole far from the yard, garden and living quarters, where people do not walk, and pour everything, to the last drop, into it and cover it with earth. The fact is that the water in which the deceased was washed causes very strong damage. Therefore, do not give this water to anyone, no matter who approaches you with such a request.
Try not to spill this water around the apartment so that those living in it do not get sick.
Pregnant women should not wash the deceased in order to avoid illness of the unborn child, as well as women who are menstruating.
As a rule, only elderly women prepare the deceased for his last journey.
The shroud must be sewn on a live thread and always with a needle from yourself, so that there are no more deaths in the house.
In Rus' in former times
In the house where the dying person lay, all the keys were removed from the keyholes and the doors and windows were opened so that the person’s soul could leave the body without interference. When a person gave his soul to God, he was necessarily washed so that he would appear before the Lord pure in soul and body.
Strict rules were followed when washing the deceased. The deceased was placed with his feet next to the stove and washed 2-3 times with warm water and soap from a new clay pot. The water with which the deceased was washed became “dead”, and it was poured somewhere far away, so that a healthy person would not step on this place, and also so that the sorcerer would not take it for himself to cause damage. The same was done with the water used to wash the dishes after the funeral and the floors after removing the deceased from the house. They also tried to get rid of other attributes of ablution as quickly as possible.
In the coffin of the deceased they place his baptismal cross, a small icon, a crown on his forehead, candles and a “handwriting” - a written prayer for the remission of sins. They give a towel (scarf) in their hands so that the deceased can wipe the sweat from their face during the Last Judgment. Who died on Easter - an egg in his hand.
The deceased is usually buried in white clothes, personifying the infantile purity of the Christian soul.
A sign was strictly observed: do not make the coffin larger than the deceased, otherwise there will be another deceased. In the house, as a sign of mourning, mirrors are curtained or turned “facing” the wall so that the person’s soul does not remain locked on the other side of the mirror. All clocks are also stopped as a sign that a person’s life journey has been completed. Before the funeral, friends and relatives come to say goodbye to the person, but 20 minutes before the removal of the body, only the closest relatives should remain with the deceased.
Take the dead person's dirty linen out of the house - take everyone out of the house.
In preparation for removing the body, first they take wreaths and a portrait of the deceased out of the house, then the lid of the coffin (with the narrow part forward), and finally the coffin itself (the deceased is carried out feet first). At the same time, thresholds and doorposts should not be touched so that the deceased is not tempted to return home.
“The dead man is alone in the house,” they say as they take him out and lock him in the house for the time being. According to the old tradition, the deceased should not be carried out before noon and after sunset, so that the setting sun could “take” the deceased with it. Relatives should not carry the coffin so that the deceased does not take a blood relative with him to the grave.
After removing the coffin from the house, be sure to wash all the floors (previously, not only the floors, but the whole house were washed with water alone).
The path of the funeral procession to the cemetery is covered with spruce branches, which serve as a talisman, a guarantee that the deceased will not “walk” and will not retrace his steps.
At funerals, it is customary to present those present with pies, sweets, and handkerchiefs. This is nothing more than the distribution of alms, which obliges those who accept it to pray for the deceased. In this case, those praying take on part of the sins of the deceased.
When you come home after a funeral, you need to warm your hands so as not to bring the cold of the grave into the house. After the funeral, no intoxicating drinks are allowed in the mouth for 40 days. At funerals, they drink only vodka, and those who come are always fed pancakes and kutya.
For the soul of the deceased, a glass of vodka, covered with a slice of bread, is placed on the table. It must stand for 40 days, until the person’s soul has completely left this world.
They don’t stay long at wakes. For six weeks after the funeral, there should be a glass of water on the windowsill, and a towel should hang on the corner of the house, outside the window, so that the soul can bathe and dry itself before the funeral. On the fortieth day, the soul of the deceased comes to his home for the whole day and leaves only after the so-called farewell. If they are not arranged, the deceased will suffer. Six weeks after death, “ladders” of dough are baked to help the soul climb to heaven. According to Russian tradition, in the folk month there are special days on which Orthodox Christians commemorate those who moved to another world.
We must always remember that at a funeral or with the help of funeral paraphernalia, the most severe damage is caused. Therefore, if something incomprehensible happened at a funeral or you suspect something, contact an experienced
to the master. Under no circumstances should you get rid of such damage on your own or through numerous and useless articles on the Internet.
Below you will find signs that people who have buried a loved one need to know - when they can open a mirror after the funeral, do cleaning and repairs, and watch TV. There are many restrictions and prohibitions that were invented by our ancestors, for the most part, back in pre-Christian times.
When to open the mirror
It is a well-known fact that after a person’s death, all reflective surfaces are supposed to be covered. These are not only mirrors, but also televisions, computer monitors and other things in which you can see your reflection. This is done so that the reflection of the deceased does not remain in the house, and his ghost does not appear alive.
There will be a lot of decisions about when you can open a mirror after a funeral. One at a time, this can be done immediately after returning from the cemetery and funeral. According to other beliefs, this is done after three days, or no earlier than the ninth day after death. But these are all modern traditions. In villages, curtains are still removed from mirrors only on the 41st day, when the fate of the soul of the deceased has already been decided.
Signs are based on the path of the deceased. So, after three days after death, his guardian angel takes him to inspect paradise. For 9 days he will appear before the Lord and go to inspect hell. On the 40th day, the soul is given a final verdict on where it will reside. Since only the first three days after death the soul is among the living, the mirrors can be opened after it leaves it. That is, on the fourth day. Previously, it was believed that during all 40 days the soul could visit relatives from time to time. That’s why they didn’t open the mirrors all this time.
Sometimes mirrors are not covered at all. For example, when a person died in a hospital, and his body is taken to the cemetery from the morgue, and not from home. It is not right. A person’s soul will still return home and stay near loved ones during their lifetime. Sometimes only those mirrors that are located where the deceased is located are covered. It is also incorrect, because the soul will wander through all the rooms of the house.
Some Slavic superstitions claim that whoever looks first into a mirror opened after a funeral will soon die. To prevent this, the cat is brought to the mirror first. She is not afraid of this sign.
Is it possible to watch TV
For obvious reasons, there are no old signs on this matter, but as mentioned above, televisions are supposed to be covered, just like mirrors. You can open them at the same time as the mirrors. That is, either after the funeral, or after the third, ninth or fortieth day.
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The Church does not prohibit watching TV, but recommends abstaining from entertainment at least nine days. You can watch news and educational programs, but it’s better to postpone watching movies and talk shows. You cannot turn on the TV in a house where a dead person is lying. Wait until the funeral is over. If the deceased was not close to you, the restriction does not apply to you.
These rules also apply to listening to music. The exception is church hymns. If you wish, you can listen to classical music. By the way, the funeral orchestra is a Soviet innovation. In the old days, they were accompanied by prayers and religious chants.
Should I keep photos of the dead?
The answer is yes. Photos are memories of a dear person, a memory for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. By destroying photographs of the deceased, you allow his descendants to never know about him.
But still the image of the dead man is connected with world of the dead. Psychics can determine from a photo whether a person is alive or not. Therefore, you should not look at photographs of the deceased too often. You also can’t overdo it with their quantity on the walls, shelves and tables. Do not hang near portraits of living people; separate living and dead energies. The best place to store it is a photo album.
Photographs taken during the funeral carry much more negativity. It's best not to do them. But, if there are already photos, it is better to destroy them. It doesn’t matter what is depicted there - a coffin, a cemetery, the funeral process, they are a strong source of necrotic energy.
When to clean the apartment
While the deceased is in the house, you cannot clean or take out the trash. Otherwise, another person in this house may die. According to legend, the person who cleans will sweep or wash it out of the home.
You need to clean it up immediately after removing the coffin. The floors are swept and washed after the deceased at a time when those mourning their last journey have already left for the cemetery. They do this to immediately sweep death, illness, and grief out of the house.
Moreover, such light cleaning cannot be done by the blood relatives of the deceased. It is better for them to have less contact with the emanations of death, so that the deceased does not take his loved ones with him. Even pregnant women do not clean up after the deceased. Usually one of the family friends is asked to sweep and mop the floor. Only he must remain in the apartment after the coffin is removed. After this, the person joins the mourners at the wake, but is not present at the cemetery.
Some things are especially strongly imbued with the energy of death. So, the stools or table on which the coffin stood are taken outside for several days and left there with their legs up. This is done in order to get rid of this energy. The apartment has a balcony.
Be sure to take away from the house everything connected with the mournful ceremony. These are the remains of fabric for upholstering the coffin, wood chips from it, as well as other ritual paraphernalia, except for a portrait with a black ribbon, a glass of water and a piece of bread. All flowers brought by mourners are supposed to be left at the grave - they are intended for the deceased.
The instrument used to take measurements for the coffin is also not left in the house; it brings death to another resident within a year. Nothing is taken from the coffin. The ropes that tied the hands of the deceased, the pennies that lay in front of the eyes - all this should remain in the coffin. The candles are taken to the cemetery, as is the grain in which they stood. It is also impossible to keep an icon that stood in front of the coffin. They float it down the river or take it to church.
When can you clean up after a funeral, if the question is general cleaning or putting the deceased’s room in order? At any time, but after the funeral or removal of the coffin. If you open mirrors at the same time, they should also be washed. If you decide to keep them closed for 3, 9 or 40 days, save that for later.
Is it possible to make repairs
Repairs can be done after a funeral, but only once it goes away 40 days after death. The soul of the deceased visits from time to time to see how loved ones live. She would like to see a familiar environment; changes can anger the spirit.
After 40 days, at a minimum, you will have to replace the bed on which the deceased slept, as well as the bed (sofa, floor or staircase covering, chair, etc.) that became the deathbed. The bed of a dead person cannot be used by his bloodline. It can be given away or sold. There is no need to install a new bed; use the freed up space as you see fit.
The place of death will continue to exude necrotic energy for several years. Therefore, it is necessary to replace everything that came into contact with the dying person, be it the floor covering where he fell, or furniture and bedding. As a rule, such things are thrown away or burned. In the villages they do things a little differently - they take them to the chicken coop for three so that the rooster “sinks away all the negativity.”
Personal belongings of the deceased, as a rule, are distributed to the poor or sold. This doesn't just apply to clothes. Your favorite cup or plate, ashtray, anti-stress toy - you shouldn’t keep it all. Although many leave it in memory of the deceased.
What else should you not do after the funeral?
You cannot do laundry in a house where a person has died. This ban applies as long as there is a coffin in the house. That is, after the funeral you can start putting your clothes in order.
Is it possible to swim after a funeral? Superstitions recommend doing this at the same time you decide to remove the fabric from reflective surfaces. That is, immediately after the funeral, three, nine or forty days. In the old days, people washed only on the 41st day after death.
Among the things you should not do after a funeral are noisy holidays. It is not advisable to hold celebrations within 40 days. Birthday celebration It’s better to reschedule or cancel altogether. But you can celebrate it modestly, with your family, without loud music or noise.
The nine-day, or better yet, forty-day ban also applies to weddings, but here everything depends on the emotional state of the relatives of the deceased. In addition, a wedding is a pre-arranged event associated with high costs. If you are having a wedding before forty days have passed since the death of a relative, during the celebration you need to mention this and pay tribute to the memory of the deceased. Weddings are allowed at any time.
Many people believe that travel and traveling are among the things that should not be done after the funeral of a loved one. This is not true. They will help to distract you, but while traveling you should avoid various entertainment activities. Don't forget to remember the deceased and pray for his soul during the holidays.
In addition, the relatives of the deceased are not allowed to sew or cut their hair for forty days. If there is a need to repair clothes, you will have to do it. But tailoring which is not urgent should be postponed. The same goes for haircuts. Do bangs interfere with your daily activities? Get rid of it. But if it’s about changing your image, do it after forty days.
The same amount of time for the family of the deceased you can't drink alcohol. Perhaps the ban is due to the fact that grief is an accomplice of alcoholism. But funeral signs also prohibit drinking at funerals. The reason is that alcoholism is a sin. Relatives can pray for a sinful person for forty days. If they sin during this time, it will only complicate his afterlife.
After the funeral they go only to the wake, and from there they go home. You can’t go to visit, otherwise death will come to that house. You can go on a visit or on business only the day after the funeral and wake. Funerals are also the ninth and fortieth day, and after them this prohibition also applies. You also cannot go to celebrations that take place in public places - birthdays, weddings.
They don’t go from wake to wake. If two deceased people are commemorated on the same day, choose the one who is closer to you. But you can say goodbye to several dead people, support relatives, and express grief. During funerals, they do not visit the graves of relatives and friends. This time you came to only one deceased person, and visiting others will be considered disrespectful.
Church opinion
There are many beliefs that are supposed to be observed after a funeral. This will help protect against necrotic energy, diseases and other troubles. In addition, some signs are aimed at improving the afterlife of the deceased and cleansing him from sins.
The death and funeral of loved ones is an inevitable, but very unpleasant part of the life of each of us.
People you love sometimes leave, it happens. But besides the fact that a funeral is a painful and tragic event, it is also filled with mysticism.
This is the time when otherworldly forces are very close to living people, and this can be very dangerous. It is not for nothing that it is customary to behave correctly at funerals, and there are superstitions associated with the dead. These are not just superstitions, but the most important rules that you need to know and remember.
The main signs at a funeral are related to two things. First, wrong actions can lead to troubles or illnesses.
And the second is that death and funerals are excellent soil for the development of all kinds of evil, corruption and other dark things. If you behave unwisely at a cemetery or at a wake, you can attract negativity.
What not to do
It is worth remembering bad superstitions and omens at funerals, and understanding well what you should not do under any circumstances, so as not to bring trouble to your family and yourself.
2. After the funeral, leaving the cemetery, you cannot turn back, even if you were called out or called. Make sure when you leave after completing the process that you do not forget anything in the cemetery.
3. There are signs that prohibit children (minors) and pregnant women from going to funerals. Even if a very close person died, they were not recommended to go to the cemetery to bury him.
This sign has been preserved for a long time and was associated with high infant mortality and the danger of difficult childbirth in pregnant women. Now this sign is not so relevant, so treat it wisely.
4. As customs associated with the dead say, if a funeral procession passes by your house, under no circumstances should anyone sleep in the house. They say that the sleeping person will soon be taken with him by the deceased.
It is better not to check whether this is true or just customs - and to wake up the sleeping ones. At the same time, no one should look out the window; it is better to close the curtains tightly and be in silence.
6. There are signs that say that during and after a funeral, a widow (or widower) should no longer wear a wedding ring.
7. While the deceased is lying in the house, customs prohibit cleaning the room, sweeping or washing the floor, or wiping dust. Even if something has scattered or spilled, you cannot clean it up until the body is taken outside the house.
8. Very important - after burial, under no circumstances should you take anything to the cemetery and take it home. Such signs are not only about funerals, but in general - you should never take anything from graves, you will bring trouble.
Important customs and traditions
1. Traditional and well-known signs say that at the funeral of an unmarried girl, she is dressed in a wedding dress. During her lifetime she did not have time to get married, but in the next world she is expected to do so. So she should be dressed appropriately.
2. After a person has died in the house, it is very important to tightly cover every mirror in the house for 40 days, and not open it, not even look at yourself. Otherwise, they will become a trap for the soul of the departed person, and he may be stuck in this world forever.
3. Signs also say that after the funeral it is important to wipe your feet thoroughly so as not to bring cemetery soil home. This land can cause many health problems; it carries bad energy.
5. Another sign regarding the funeral advises that all things that were used for the deceased, such as a comb, ropes, and measurements, should be placed in the coffin with him. Otherwise, they can be damaged.
6. After leaving the cemetery and coming home, it is important to warm your hands properly (even if they are not frozen) - hold them in hot water, over the fire. You also need to wash yourself completely and hold your hands over the church candle.
7. Ancient superstitions say that during a funeral you must throw a handful of earth into the coffin so that the spirits of the dead do not come to you.
9. The water with which the dead body was washed must be poured into a remote, deserted place, preferably not under a tree.
10. Ancient signs about funerals and the dead say: where the coffin used to stand, place an ax in this place. Otherwise, it is believed that another dead person may appear soon.
What to do if a coffin or a dead person falls?
Here you don’t even need to know the signs, everyone can guess that if a dead person’s body falls during or before a funeral, it is accidentally dropped, or the coffin is turned over (such accidents happen), then this is a very bad sign.
In this case, the signs say that there will soon be another funeral - within three months. How to behave if a dead person or a coffin falls in order to avert trouble?
Returning home from the funeral, you need to do all the important actions that the signs say so that the funeral does not leave a mark on you (wash, warm your hands, etc.), and then do the ritual. We need to bake pancakes and take them to the cemetery.
If it is already evening, this can be done the next morning. At the cemetery, you need to go with pancakes in turn to three graves with the same name as yours, and read the “Our Father” three times.
Then distribute the pancakes near the temple, along with alms. Be sure to do this alone, and remain silent on the way there and back, even turn off your phone.
Of course, a funeral is a big blow and a lot of stress. But during the funeral and wake, try to remember and say the best about the deceased, and not cry too much about the loss, because he has gone to a better world.
Observe important signs at a funeral, behave with restraint and caution, even if you are not superstitious, and let this knowledge come in handy as little as possible.
Author: Vasilina Serova
Death has always caused fear in humans. Signs at a funeral are of particular importance for the relatives of the deceased, because they can be used to determine whether a person will be happy in the afterlife or not.
Superstitions
Among the funeral beliefs of different nations, the following can be distinguished:
- Whoever the dead man meets with his eyes will follow him. In different religions, the dead have their eyelids painted over or special objects placed over their eyes. Meeting the gaze of a dead person is regarded as a bad sign, foreshadowing a serious illness or imminent death.
- An unmarried girl should be buried in her wedding dress. According to custom, a woman can become the bride of God if she dies a virgin. However, for this she needs to appear before the Lord in all her wedding details.
- Relatives cannot carry the coffin on their shoulders. According to legends, the soul of the deceased watches over the burial ritual for forty days. If the relatives of the deceased take the coffin on their shoulders, the deceased may decide that they are happy about his death. Blood ties in this situation will weaken a person’s defense before the other world. According to tradition, the coffin is carried by people not related to the deceased, and as a sign of respect they must tie a white towel on their arm.
Before burial, you should throw a handful of soil on the coffin - this will protect the house from the ghost of the deceased.
In a house where a person has died, all reflective surfaces must be removed or covered for forty days. There is a superstition that a mirror is a passage between the material world and the other world. The reflective surface can captivate the deceased - if during the period of its 40-day stay the spirit is near the mirror, then it will be forced to remain on earth until it is freed.
You should not leave objects in the house that have had contact with the body of the deceased. Therefore, ropes are placed in the coffin, with which the limbs of the deceased and the measure are tied. According to signs, such things in the house can bring misfortune to the residents. With the help of these items, the evil eye or damage can be sent to the family of the deceased, so during the funeral you need to make sure that the measure and ropes are not pulled out of the coffin.
Burial
Many beliefs are associated with burying a dead person. Among them are:
- The hole is smaller than the coffin - the earth does not accept the deceased. If the grave is larger than the coffin, expect another dead person.
- The ground collapsed while the coffin was being lowered - a relative of the deceased will die in the next month. The edge of the soil sagged on the northern edge - a man, on the southern side - a woman.
Prohibitions
Pregnant girls and children are not allowed to attend the burial. According to signs, being present at a burial can cause a miscarriage in a girl. Children may get sick after visiting a cemetery.
You should not cry a lot during the burial. The deceased may take relatives who grieve too much with him out of pity.
You cannot insult the deceased or remember his negative character traits. It is necessary to speak well of the deceased.
Raising flowers behind the procession is regarded as a bad sign - a person voluntarily accepts a bad fate.
If valuables fall into the grave, you should not take them out. According to legend, such objects are considered retribution for sins. If you take them out, you can anger the dead.
It is a serious disrespect for the dead to fall into a grave, so one should keep away from the edge of the pit during burial.
According to custom, fresh flowers cannot be placed in the coffin.
After the funeral
As soon as the coffin with the deceased is taken out, the old broom and wood chips should be thrown away. This belief is due to the fact that the last person who leaves the house after burying the deceased sweeps and cleans up after the deceased. All procedures are performed from the threshold deep into the house. After completing the ritual, both the broom and the floor rag must be thrown away. If they are left indoors, someone in the family will die next.
The comb of the deceased must be thrown into the water or placed in the coffin. Such a personal hygiene item is unclean after touching the body of a deceased person. It is no longer possible to wash or consecrate this thing. The comb is especially dangerous for children, who may mistakenly comb their hair with it. It is best to throw the comb into running water. It could be a river or the sea. You cannot throw a comb into a lake, since standing water becomes dead under the influence of an unclean object. This ritual is performed to drive death away from the house. Otherwise, pets in the house may die. Also, such a procedure helps to get rid of longing for the deceased. If there is no running water nearby, then the comb must be placed in the coffin of the deceased. This will protect the house from death, but will not relieve emotional distress.
Farewell and commemoration
After the funeral, you should drink a glass for the repose of your soul. According to tradition, the deceased is remembered with church wine, so that the deceased will sooner enter the Kingdom of Heaven, since wine has long been associated with the blood of Jesus.
Bread should be crumbled at the grave itself. According to legends, the soul of a person transmigrates into a bird and through it reaches heaven.
On memorial days, you need to put a glass or cup of water on the window. For forty days, the soul of the deceased drinks water and washes himself before meeting God. The container must be constantly filled so that the liquid in it is not less than half. You should also place a clean cotton towel near the glass. When the funeral days arrive, the towel must be burned.
For forty days, it is not advisable to behave expressively: cry loudly in public or laugh. Grief for the deceased should be moderate, otherwise the deceased may take the overly grieving relative with him. Excessive fun can offend the deceased. The spirit of the deceased can curse overly joyful relatives, so you should not express happiness when receiving a large inheritance.
Weddings or engagements cannot be held during memorial days. In such families, according to legend, children may die.
Feast
A funeral dinner is a long-standing ritual through which relatives pay tribute to the deceased and bid farewell to his soul. This ritual has certain rules:
- Knives and forks are not used during a funeral dinner - these utensils can disturb the dead due to their sharp shape.
- Kutia, jelly and pancakes are considered traditional dishes on the table.
- When drinking to the repose during a funeral dinner, you should not clink glasses. A similar gesture relates to celebrations, so it is inappropriate during a wake.
Someone else's funeral
There are a number of beliefs associated with the funerals of strangers. Among them are:
- You cannot cross the path in front of someone else's coffin. If a person died from a disease, then the disease can spread to the one who ran in front of the coffin.
- If an infant is eating while a funeral procession is passing by the window, a glass of water should be placed under the crib. This will protect the child from evil spirits.
- Meeting a funeral procession means bad luck in the house. It could be money problems or pet pestilence.
Church traditions
Religion and superstition are closely linked in the culture of many peoples. Signs at funerals often include church rituals and folk beliefs:
- The funeral takes place on the third day. This tradition is associated with the resurrection of Jesus, which occurred on the third day. According to legend, on the third day the soul will be able to go to heaven.
- The deceased's hands should be folded into a cross. The right hand, symbolizing living in truth, should rest on top of the left.
- The head of a deceased woman should be covered with a scarf. Also, all girls present at the funeral must wear hats.
- Be sure to put a cross on the neck of the deceased.
- A cloth strip with images of saints and prayers should be placed on the forehead of the deceased.
Coffin
The well-being of the house is also influenced by what the deceased is buried in. An incorrectly selected coffin or non-compliance with rituals can cause problems in the home:
- A forgotten coffin lid foreshadows another dead person in the house. For this reason, the lid is removed from the room first, then the coffin.
- The coffin is carried around the funeral stone three times.
- According to English superstitions, if a coffin is hammered in on the street, the doors to the house are already closed, and the funeral procession has not yet formed, someone else will soon die. The coffin should be closed at the very last moment, after everyone has said goodbye and decided on the order in the procession.
The coffin is larger than the deceased - someone will die next. Free space in a coffin has long been considered a very bad omen. Since the error in size is usually small, children may be the first to suffer.
The fall of the coffin has a special significance in folk superstitions. Depending on the place and position of the deceased, a fall may have the following consequences:
- The coffin fell at the funeral - the family will bury their loved ones for another three years. To avoid bad luck, you need to bake pancakes and distribute them to the poor near the church. Afterwards, you should light a candle in the temple for the repose of the soul of the deceased.
- A coffin falling into a grave means the imminent death of people close to the deceased. These could be relatives or friends. Gifts to the deceased on the coffin will help protect against this sign: bread or cloth is placed before burial.
- The deceased who has fallen out of the coffin will call a family member to follow him. This is also regarded as the inability of the spirit of the deceased to find peace. A custom prayer service in church for the repose of the soul of the deceased will help neutralize the bad consequences.
The lid of the coffin fell - the spirit of the deceased will take up residence in the house. In this case, you should visit the graveyard the day after the burial and leave small money at the grave. This will serve as a kind of ransom from death.
Other beliefs
There are also lesser-known funeral signs that are followed in villages. Among them, the following customs should be highlighted:
- In order not to be afraid of the deceased person, they touch his legs. This ritual is associated with the belief that death is in the head.
- The fear of the dead man has shackled him - pull the thread from the shroud.
- In the presence of the deceased, one should greet with a nod of the head, and not with words.
- The straw on which the deceased lay must be burned.
According to tradition, on the third day the bed of the deceased is taken to the chicken coop. There is a superstition that roosters, by crowing, drive away evil spirits and restless ghosts.
The presence of children and animals in the same room as the deceased should be limited. Otherwise, death may call them with it.
According to signs, the first person to be buried in the new cemetery will belong to the Devil. Traditionally, the first to be buried in the graveyard are those who were guilty during their lifetime.
Conclusion
Signs during funerals play an important role in the culture of many nations. Some of them are aimed at resting the soul of the deceased. Others help protect home and family from the other world.
In the modern world, burial signs not only indicate the possible consequences of certain events during the burial, but also dictate how to behave during the funeral. This is due to the close interweaving of religion, traditions and folk superstitions.
