4th November 2024
How is death celebrated around the world?
By Tracey Gelder
It’s hard to escape the conclusion that, in our culture, death is very rarely a cause for celebration in any way.
At Tithe Green Natural Burial, we believe that funerals should be more about celebrating a life well lived rather than mourning one that’s been lost. Nevertheless, there are many cultures around the world with a far more active approach to the matter than even we’re used to!
In this article, we’re going to explore just a few of the countries from around the world that enjoy major festivals built around the idea of properly celebrating ‘lost loved ones’.
How different cultures celebrate death
Mexico: Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
Perhaps the best known of the world’s numerous death celebrations, Mexico’s ‘day of the dead’ is actually two days of the dead. Over the course of those two days at the beginning of November, the spirits of the dead – the first day is for departed children, the second for adults – return to spend time with their families for a brief reunion.
Naturally, it’s an excuse for a good party, involving plenty of music, dancing, drinking and feasting – as should be the case with any good festival. Common visual themes associated with the festival are skeletons and skulls.
Despite it being so close to the Catholic All Saints’ Day, the origins of Day of the Dead actually lie hundreds of years before the arrival of European settlers.
Japan: Obon
As with Día de Los Muertos, Japan’s Obon festival is a time for the dead to return to their families. It also involves singing and dancing, but is generally a more sedate affair than its Mexican equivalent.
Usually taking place in the middle of August – although this can vary in different parts of the country – Odon celebrations also involve lighting paper lanterns (or, in Kyoto, giant bonfires) to guide the spirits of the dead back into the world of the living. It’s also common for families to visit graveyards to clean and tend to the graves of their relatives.
Obon lasts for three days and has its roots in Buddhism, after Buddha helped one of his disciples to free his mother’s suffering spirit from the realm of the Hungry Ghosts.
China: Qingming (Ancestors’ Day)
Also known as Tomb Sweeping Day, Qingming is celebrated by ethnic Chinese across South East Asia, and – as the name suggests and in common with Obon – involves the tending of the graves of ancestors.
China also has a Hungry Ghost festival, which is celebrated for a whole month and mixes the usual festivities with the fear that the returning ghosts will haunt those who dare to venture out at night during the period of the celebrations.
Both festivals have their roots in Buddhism and Taoism.
Whatever your personal beliefs about what happens after death – whether you believe in some kind of afterlife or that it really is the end – you’re always welcome at Tithe Green Natural Burial. Our eco-friendly sites at Ketton, Markfield and Oxton are the ideal places for laying people to rest in a way that’s positive for the soul as well as the planet.
Get in touch now to find or more or book your natural burial or ashes interment with us online now.