How Different Cultures Honor the Deceased

It is always interesting to learn about the differences between cultures and one of the most interesting differences among cultures is the way they honor the deceased. What may seem crazy to one culture is totally normal to another culture and vice versa. Here are three of the more interesting ways to honor the dead from various countries and cultures around the world.

China & The Philippines

In China and The Philippines, some people honor their loved ones who have passed by hanging their coffins on a mountainside. They believe that the closer the coffin is the to sky, the closer their loved ones are to heaven.

South Korea

South Korea has limited space for burials, so they had to get imaginative with the way they honored their loved ones. They have adopted the practice of cremating the bodies of the dead and pressing their ashes into jewelry-like beads. These beads are usually colorful and kept in a bottle or urn.

New Orleans, Louisiana

In New Orleans, they honor their loved ones by playing somber jazz music from the funeral home to the place of burial. After they have buried their loved one, they play more up-beat jazz music to celebrate the life of their loved one who has passed on.

Louis Cicalese, cemetery trustee in New Jersey is president of the board of the historic Harleigh Cemetery and serves as an advisor to a number of non-profit cemetery organizations in New Jersey.

Source: Everplans