The following section is not comprehensive, as it does not describe the funeral traditions and attitudes toward death of all different ethnic groups living in the U.S. The groups included are (some of) the ones whose funeral traditions cannot be described simply as arising from religions prevalent among that group. It is hoped that even without being comprehensive, this section will serve to illustrate at least the kinds of differences that exist between cultures in thinking about death and funerals. society at the time. Before the Civil War, bodies of deceased relatives were typically prepared and given a wake in their family’s home. But the war changed all that. With thousands of young men dying hundreds of miles away from their homes, an industry quickly sprang up to embalm and transport soldiers’ remains home. As funeral homes were established around the country to meet this demand, and as America moved from slavery to segregation and Jim Crow, no business was more thoroughly segregated than the funeral business. This segregation and the legacy of slavery promoted the development of distinct funeral customs. First, a time of mourning takes place, followed by a lighter homegoing service that features singing, music, and plenty of food (Dignity Memorial, n.d.). During the years of segregation and Jim Crow, white-owned newspapers would refuse to print obituaries for African Americans. This sparked the custom of elaborate funeral programs as a way to document the funeral service and the deceased’s life. Today, these artfully designed funeral programs are a keepsake for families and guests. There is typically a viewing period at a funeral home, followed by a funeral at a church, often on a Saturday. An open casket is common, and although the popularity of cremation is growing, it remains fairly uncommon. it is more commonly known in Mexico; Hidalgo et al., 2020). In contrast to the view of death and the dead as sinister, frightening, or things to be denied and ignored, the traditions of Dia de los Muertos demonstrate an attitude that embraces death and welcomes the spirits of the deceased back to earth, typically on November 1 and 2 each year. This attitude may also be seen in the custom of having an extended wake, as long as 48 hours, with the deceased’s body lying at home, either in an open casket or simply under a shroud, as friends and family come to offer condolences (Raymond, 2022). Candles are lit for the deceased, often one at each corner of the coffin. Here, a dead body is not thought of as something that needs to be buried immediately, put away from life. A rosary prayer and group prayers known as the novenas are often recited, beginning during the wake and for nine days after. After this initial stage of mourning, a mass is held at a church, followed by a procession to the cemetery, where the grave is blessed with holy water before the casket is lowered in. It is a common practice for relatives of the deceased to bring clothes to the funeral home and dress the deceased themselves, sometimes leaving keepsakes in pockets, such as rosaries, religious images, or poems. to note that a number of the traditions described transcend religious boundaries and may show up in otherwise Christian or secular funerals (Funeral Guide, 2019). Preparations for a funeral may begin with a consultation with a feng shui expert (Bayer Cemetery Brokers, 2016). These consultations cover topics such as when to hold the funeral and where the burial should take place, in the belief that certain times and locations may be more likely to bring good fortune to
In this section, we’ll examine some cultural differences in funerals that are common in the U.S. Many people prefer to seek out funeral professionals within their own communities who are likely to be intimately familiar with the traditions that are important within that community. However, you may be asked to play a role in the funeral arrangements for someone of a culture that is different from your own. If this is the case, the information that follows may serve as a base to ease your sense of unfamiliarity. African American funerals Funeral customs in African American communities are as diverse as the communities that practice them. Yet there are shared traditions and practices that, while not universally present at African American funerals, are important for funeral directors practicing in the U.S. to understand. The history of African American funeral traditions is tightly interwoven with the history of African American life in general, and slavery and segregation in particular. Having a sense of this history may help funeral directors come alive to a host of ongoing societal dynamics and issues and how they play out as families make choices about their loved ones’ funerals. The first chapter of the history of African American funerals began during slavery. Enslaved people on plantations were generally not allowed to have funerals, although some small ceremonies were permitted (Rose, 2011). Typically, those who died were buried in unmarked graves. The ceremonies enslaved individuals were able to hold were often known as “homegoings” and were thought of as the deceased’s return to Africa and escape from life in slavery. As such, these ceremonies took on a partially celebratory aspect. The homegoing tradition continues to this day. It was after emancipation that African Americans’ funeral practices came out into the open (Terrell, 2021). Funeral traditions were undergoing a major shift across all of American Latinx and Hispanic funerals When it comes to discussing the Latinx/Hispanic population of the U.S., we are talking about an incredibly diverse group of people, from recent immigrants to families who have lived in the U.S. for generations. Either way, people may have roots in any of the predominantly Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking countries of the Western Hemisphere. This is also a racially diverse group, even if it is thought to be tied together by a common ethnicity. Another factor that unites many people in this group is religion. Roman Catholicism is widespread among this community, and according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 48% of people who identified as Latinx also identified as Catholic (Pew, 2022). Although religion is important within the Latinx community— the same survey found that 59% of those asked rated religion as “very important” in their lives—not all funeral traditions are dictated by religion (Pew, 2022). Indeed, funeral traditions and understandings of death are deeply informed by the cultures of the Indigenous peoples living in the Americas before the arrival of Europeans. One of the most important examples of this is the influence of the view, prevalent among Aztec individuals, that death is not an end to existence, but rather a stage of it. This belief is reflected in the celebration of Dia de los Muertos (or Dia de Muertos, as Chinese American funerals People in the U.S. who identify as having Chinese ethnicity form a religiously diverse group. According to the Pew Research Center, 22% are Protestant Christian, 8% are Catholic, 15% are Buddhist, and 52% described themselves as “unaffiliated” (Pew, 2022). The traditions described here are mainly associated with Buddhism, as it is practiced by many Chinese Americans, as are Taoism and Chinese folk religions. However, it is important
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