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Funerals are well known throughout the world. They are almost always performed in every country and religion. Even though the steps of the ritual in different religions may be significantly different, they all carry the same meaning:

TO REMEMBER THE LIFE OF A PERSON WHO LIVED

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The purpose of a funeral is to remember and officially 'send off' a passed person. By holding a funeral, people are able to come together to remember the person who has died. They can say their goodbyes to the person in an official manner.

Sometimes, the family of the person will have a private Memorial, a small service concerning the close family, where the family can say stories and memories of the deceased person.

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Passed: This is the person who has died. Their death may have been from an injury, accident, disease or just naturally. This is the person people hold a funeral for; to remember them.

Priest: In all religions, there is some type of priest or person who says prayers, oaths or blessings. These are said to cleanse the body and help prepare them to travel to their next life.

Family and friends: These people are either related to the deceased, relatives of the deceased or invited by the family. Usually, family members will read something to the dead person to say goodbye and to help remind everybody about what type of person they were.

Funeral director: If a priest is not available or the religion does not consult a priest, a funeral director does a similar job to the priest. They are also able to say prayers, oaths and blessing.

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SYMBOLS AND COLOURS: What Do They Represent?

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SYMBOLS AND COLOURS: What Do They Represent?

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Religious symbol: There is almost always a religious symbol, for example: The Holy Cross. If the religion has a symbol, it will almost always be present at some point in the funeral. They will represent something in the religion, for example: The Holy Cross represent Jesus dying on the cross for us to cleanse us of our sins.

Black: The colour black is almost always worn at a funeral. Black is known as a colour of mourning. It represents the family and friends mourning over the loss of a loved one.

Coffin: A coffin is a long, diamond shaped box where the deceased body is placed. The word coffin comes from the modern French meaning of 'cradle'. The coffin represents the body being cradled as it passes to a new life. Flowers are often placed upon the coffin. They are gifts for the deceased person.

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WHAT IS SAID? Prayers, Oaths and Blessings

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WHAT IS SAID? Prayers, Oaths and Blessings

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Many prayers, blessings and oaths are said in every religion. They may not be exactly the same but they all have a meaning of saying goodbye, moving on and not being afraid of death. Some popular sayings are:

- The Lord's Prayer

- The Trifles Of Time

- Meditation On Death And Dying

Another popular action said at funerals are verses from the Bible. Certain verses are picked to help cleanse the soul of sin by reading something that (a) Jesus said himself, or (b) a lesson that was recorded in the bible. Some of these wonderful verses include:

- Psalm 23 "The Lord Is My Shepard

- John 5:28-29

- 1 Thessalonians 4:16

If there are any variations in the verse, prayer, oaths or blessings, they can be read instead of the original if the dead person preferred that version.

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The funeral is usually held about a week after the death. They can be held almost anywhere but are most commonly held in a church or at the crematorium.

The priest or funeral director will open the service with readings from the scriptures 'Book Of Common Prayer 1979'.

Then, the priest or funeral director will read from the Old Testament or the New Testament or both.

Psalm 23 'The Lord Is My Shepard' is often read as well.

Family and friends will then be able to talk to the attendees and reflect on the person.

Even more prayers are then said.

There is usually a small silent time for silent reflections on the deceased.

Then the priest or funeral director will farewell the person. If this is being performed at a burial, the priest or funeral director will always recite the words 'ashes to ashes, dust to dust'.

Hymns are usually sung as the coffin is being walked out or when the coffin is being buried. If the person decides to be cremated, there will be no coffin but hymns will still be sung.

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Funerals are made up of many elements which are sometimes known as a funeral hierarchy. This hierarchy consists of six levels (from bottom to top): Reality, Recall, Support, Expression, Meaning and Transcendence.

Reality: Reality is the time when you realise that the person has actually died. By going to a funeral, it helps friends and family to come into reality with what has happened.

Recall: Recalling is when people in the funeral share stories/memories about the dead person. In this way, when people share well-known stories of the person, others can remember the dead's true spirit and happiness towards their life.

Support: By going to a funeral, friends and family can remember and reflect on the passed person. They can help care for each other and give them words of reassurance and courage to support them.

Expression: When you go to a funeral, members of the person's family will talk to express their feeling about the person, felling about death and feelings about how they will carry on with their life.

Meaning: Funerals allow people to find meaning with each other. They mark the significance of the dead person's life. Meaning helps us find the purpose of living by keeping the person in our hearts.

Transcendence: Funerals help us to think properly about life and death. Transcendence is where we ask ourselves questions such as 'where will they go now?' or 'why didn't they keep living longer?'

Before the person dies, they can choose whether to be buried or be cremated. Being buried means you body is placed in a coffin, which is then placed under the ground and covered with dirt. There is also a gravestone placed on top of the burial place of the person. However, people can choose to be cremated, which is where the person's body is burnt, their ashes are collected and the family can decide what to do with them if they want. Ashes can also be kept inside an urn, a jar that is for carrying the ashes of the deceased.

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Funerals date back a long time, as far as when Homo Sapiens were around. Archaeologists have found Neanderthal skeleton and skeleton remains which had a significant layer of pollen from flowers sprinkled over the top. This is clearly a sign of burial and people obviously would have gathered to farewell he person.

In some parts of the world a long time ago, cannibalism was a rare way to send off a loved one but still allow their body to remain within their loved ones.

Others, like the Vikings, would send their kings on their alight longships down rivers and out to sea, disposing of the deceased quite quickly.

One of the most well known ancient ways of burial is mummification. The mummification process took 70 days. Mummies could be preserved wet, dry or completely frozen. The mummies organs were removed after being dried out and their bodies were wrapped in rags and cloths. They were than placed in a coffin and put in a tomb.

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Meaningfulfunerals.com, (2015). The Purpose of Funerals « Meaningful Funerals. http://www.meaningfulfunerals.com/meaningful-funerals/why-have-a-funeral/hierarchy-of-the-purpose-of-funerals/

Prayers for Special Help, (2015). Funeral Prayers - Popular Prayers to say at Funerals. http://www.prayers-for-special-help.com/Funeral-Prayers.html

Prayers for Special Help, (2015). Bible Verses for Funerals - Bible Quotes and Scripture. http://www.prayers-for-special-help.com/bible-verses-for-funerals.html

Whittingham, W., Gilby, A., Sampson, T., Tomson, L. and Junius, F. (1599). The Bible. London. Christopher Barker

Bbc.co.uk, (2015). BBC - Religions - Christianity: Christian funerals.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/ritesrituals/funerals.shtml