One of the many interesting cultures is that of the Spanish. They have a festival called 'Day of The Dead'. This is a festival takes place on November 1st and 2nd (which, in the Catholic faith are also important days revolving around death, which will be discussed later). November 1st is normally celebratory of infants and younger children that have passed away, so it is called Día de los Inocentes, meaning 'Day of the Innocents' or Día de los Angelitos 'Day of the Little Angels'. November 2nd is to celebrate adults and the elderly passing away, hence the name Día de los Muertos or Día de los Difuntos which generally translates into 'Day of the Dead'. Some traditions that occur on these days are building a special alter honouring the memory of a loved one. Furthermore, they bring their loved ones their favourite foods, drinks, and other favourite items and deliver them as gifts to the grave of their departed loved one. The celebration is one of the life that their friend of family member lived, and celebrates their memory rather then grieving their loss. The Day of the Dead festivities originally date back to a time where they celebrated for an entire month dedicated to "Lady of the Dead" who is a God they believed in. The idea of visiting graves and celebrating their life is in the hope that their deceased loved ones spirit will come be with them.
This is an example of the type of alter they would make when celebrating Day of the Dead
Another place that has a very interesting death ritual is Jamaica. In Jamaica there is what is called the Nine Night. This means that the celebration of ones death doesn't occur until nine nights after the person's passing. The reasoning behind this time lapse before celebration is to give the spirit time to begin their journey to God. Previous to the Nine Night, there is often a ceremony similar to the Christian funeral, letting the spirit know that it is time to go. If they do not have this ceremony, the spirit doesn't realize it is "their time" and they are said to stay behind and haunt the living. Today in Jamaica, the celebration of death is very similar to the Christian way, however there are still many African rituals that are added. A few interesting examples would be that they carry the corpse from their house feet first. They also stop the clocks, cover the mirrors in the house, and they rearrange the funeral so that if the spirit returns they will not be familiarized with the place. It is also a custom to pass a young child back and forth across the tomb in order to prevent the spirit from harming them. Furthermore they were black - which is traditional - but also purple and white. As you can see they take the Christian funeral and add their own twist to it.
As I previously stated, November 1st and 2nd are also important days in the Catholic Faith regarding death. November 1st is a sacred day in the Catholic faith that is celebrated around the world, especially in historical Catholic countries. It is called 'All Saints Day'. This day is to remember the Saints that gave up their lives for us. It is similar to other days you might celebrate, such as Veteran's day. It is a day to honour those who have passed and gave up their lives so that we live better lives.
This is an icon for All Saints Day and depicts many Saints
The following day, November 2nd, is a day to celebrate the passing of loved ones. It is a day to remember the ones you have lost that you miss. The idea of this celebration comes from an ancient Pagan Festival of the Dead. The idea behind that celebration was that the spirits who passed away would come back for a meal with their loved ones. The same idea is carried on November 2nd, which we call All Souls Day. It is also similar to Day of the Dead, in that they make an alter for their loved ones. On All Souls Day, the alter normally is adorned with marigolds (the traditional flower representing death), an offering of food is normally placed on or around the alter, as well as a candle. There are more individualized things as well, memorabilia that the deceased would like, as well as pictures of them, etc. As you can see, this day incorporates multiple other festivals into their own Catholic celebration.
There are many different celebrations of loss in many different cultures, and everyone celebrates and mourns differently. These were just a few of the most interesting ceremonies and celebrations that give you a broad idea of all the many ways one could mourn and remember loved ones.
