Death traditions

[JBRaven]

In Russia, proper care for and remembrance of the dead are considered very important. Around the time of death, it is crucial to do certain things to prevent the dead from staying or returning. There are many Traditions that are done to make sure of this, So here is a list that I complied for you to all reflect on. I also want to know about any Death rituals that your culture holds.

Russians tend to be cheerful with the dying person to avoid distressing the patient.

Family plays a major role in supporting the sick person. Usually there is a family member nursing day and night at the bedside. Continuous death watching is a widespread phenomenon in Russia.

Epic chants (byliny), the stately figure-dances known as khorovody, the "religious verses" (dukhovnye stikhi) with their intertwining of religious and folk motifs, even the wonder tales (volshebnye skazki), are often recited

Wearing weeds, or drab clothing in black, is a ritual established to prevent the dead from returning. Covering the head in a black kerchief and wearing black continues for 40 days after the death. Women who have lost older children unexpectedly, wear the dark colors for a year. Daughters mourning the death of a parent wear the weeds for one to six weeks. Men do not participate in wearing the weeds.
The family may desire that the coffin be taken to the patient’s home on the way to the funeral service, so that the deceased can visit their home for the last time.

Wailing and other displays of grief may be reserved primarily for expression in the home.

The family may have some specific practices for washing the body after the death.


The family may close the eyes and mouth of the deceased; otherwise, it is considered a bad omen. So often caskets have the dead starring up at you. The family may want to place coins on the eyelids and a roll of cloth under the deceased’s chin.

Covering mirrors, stopping watches and taking the TV from the room where the body lies in wait. Superstitious that the dead will return to their home and take someone with them, when the body is carried away from the home for burial, it is carried with its legs extended forward and done so that no part of the body touches the house on its way out. Then when the body is removed, people sit in the chairs or on tables that held the coffin before turning them over for a length of time.
In the church or hall where the body is displayed, mourners circle the open coffin counterclockwise and may kiss or lay flowers on the body.

During the forty days following the funeral, a special towel is kept on the window-frame and a cup of water on the window-sill. The soul of the dead is thought to visit his home and will have a rest on the towel and take a sip of the water or bath in the water. On the fortieth day the towel is shaken out at the cemetery while the words: “The soul, go where the body has gone" is recited. Then the towel was burnt or placed in the river, where it would float away downstream.

Some Russian dialects do not differentiate between the verbs "to wake" and "to be alive." This can be seen in nineteenth-century examples from V. I. Dal's etymological dictionary such as: "My eshche zhili" (literally, "We were still alive," that is, "awake") or "Khozyaeva ne zhivut" (literally, "The master and mistress are not alive," that is, "not awake," "have gone to bed"). In folklore, too, sleep and death have been correlated down the centuries. So there is normally a “waiting” time to make sure the person is dead not just sleeping.

40 days after dying the soul leaves the body, rising like a cloud. According to other legends, a soul looks like a baby, a butterfly, a fly, a bee, a mouse or even a bird. Evil souls can look like black ravens. Young souls can grow in the form of trees, flowers and grass.

A different route is taken from the cemetery to confuse any evil spirits who may want to follow

[Symandinome]

that was very interesting it is reminiscent of practices of Israel and Romania as well.I will post some information for other cultures soon.