My only previous experience with this topic was when I was 11, and my father's family had a memorial for my grandparents, who had died when I was young. They had it then because my grandparents donated their bodies to science, and it took a while to get back whatever was left, which had been cremated. I just remember feeling like I was playing a part by being somber and sad; after all, I never really knew them, I just knew I was supposed to be respectful for other people's feelings. I don't think this really counts as previous experience, because as I said, I didn't really know them. Other than that experience, I know little other than what I've read in books and seen in movies. It's odd to know so little about something that happens all the time, and something that nearly everyone I know has been through at this point in our lives. Most people haven't gone 17 years without knowing someone who died, who is dead, who will die soon.
Because I have gone my whole life without having been through this experience, I haven't really been taught a way to think of and act towards dead people. I know it's supposed to be sad, obviously; I know you aren't supposed to celebrate the fact that someone is dead, but rather celebrate their life. I know that once someone is dead, no one ever brings up the bad things they have done, only the good things. I'm not sure what the social norms surrounding this topic are, simply because it isn't often discussed. Most people I know say they'd like to be cremated, but I don't think that is the norm; I would imagine that the "normal" thing to do would be a funeral, as this is what it usually portrayed on TV and in movies.I think this unit will be interesting, because I won't have many predispositions about the way people are "supposed to" be taken care of - what I learn will be the way I first think about it.
Questions:
- How did cremation become an acceptable practice for care of the dead?
- What is the difference between a funeral and a memorial, and how/why do the two get confused?
- What happens before someone is put in a coffin?
- Which ways of caring for the dead are less harmful to the environment?
- What role does religion play in the decision of how to care for the dead?
Because I have gone my whole life without having been through this experience, I haven't really been taught a way to think of and act towards dead people. I know it's supposed to be sad, obviously; I know you aren't supposed to celebrate the fact that someone is dead, but rather celebrate their life. I know that once someone is dead, no one ever brings up the bad things they have done, only the good things. I'm not sure what the social norms surrounding this topic are, simply because it isn't often discussed. Most people I know say they'd like to be cremated, but I don't think that is the norm; I would imagine that the "normal" thing to do would be a funeral, as this is what it usually portrayed on TV and in movies.I think this unit will be interesting, because I won't have many predispositions about the way people are "supposed to" be taken care of - what I learn will be the way I first think about it.
Questions:
- How did cremation become an acceptable practice for care of the dead?
- What is the difference between a funeral and a memorial, and how/why do the two get confused?
- What happens before someone is put in a coffin?
- Which ways of caring for the dead are less harmful to the environment?
- What role does religion play in the decision of how to care for the dead?
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