Symbolism of Death

[RamesesII]

I thought it was about due time that i created another ID thread and one of the last things i have been thinking of was the symbolism and meaning of death.
Death has always been symbolised by the grim reaper, skeletons the devil you name it there are plenty of different symbols for it, but why such the dark demeanor of the symbols, i have always liked Grim Reapers just because of the mysteriousness of them with the capes and black hollow hoods and the massive scythes they carry and i can only assume that his scythe is his means of severing the soul from the body hence causing the body to become lifless but why do they make him/her so sinister. The egyptians don't exactly embrace death but the worship and celebrate it as one crossing to the lands of the Pharohs and as the name suggests it was mainly believed that only Pharohs, preists, nobles and scribes were allowed this passage towrds a second life. Ancient tribes used to believe that death was what they lived for and embraced it when it came and believed that it was their gods gift. But now we try and prevent it and subdue its coming geez i sound suicidal and goth when i speak like that trust me i am oooook hehe no i love my life and i live for my family but when it is my time i guess it is my time hopefully not for a very long time.

I know there are some parts of the world that celebrate their dead and deceased yearly in the festivel of the dead and i have watched these parades and they are quite freaky but that is their way instead of weeping and grieving the have a huge party hell i hope thats how i am remembered haha. Chinese and Japanese i think make little lanterns for friends and family who have passed away and set them adrift, some cultures still believe in send the body away with coins to pay the ferry man to get over the river styx and some still burn the bodies on a pyre. Now don't get me wrong i will always mourn if someone close to me passes i wouldn't celebrate their passing as such but i would celebrate their life and because i know thats how all my friends and family would like it.

How is death symbolised in your parts of the world, is it celebrated revered or mourned.

[RagnaToad]

I'm just a European, so death is not something that is celebrated.

In Western society, youth and the beauty people possess when they're young are the standard for us all. People are almost as afraid of getting old as they are of death itself.

Also, with science surpassing religion the last decades, heaven is far from a security. As is any 'afterlife'.

It's only normal that you want to hold on to the world as you know it.

[Sinister]

I'm umm...Pretty big on the whole symbolism of death, over here. I wear, generally, nothing but black. I watch horror movies and surround myself with the trapping and symbolism of Death. Even the music I listen to is brooding and fixated on the ideals of Death.

Death is celebrated too darkly, and that's probably true. What the majority over here regard as grim and macabre, I find normal, natural, sometimes sad and sometimes very funny. If Death is horrible and to be feared, I've inured myself by over-exposure. Can't say as I look forward to it, but I'm not paralyzed with fear of it. And I certainly don't find it's symbolism distasteful or unappealing. It's a common theme and underlying destination of all living things...so I'm not prepared to pretend it's not there.

As for the various symbols... They vary the whole world round but they're not too different in terms of context. People are still afraid and skittish of them, even breaking down into an almost OCD-like superstition of them.


-Sin

[Alpha]

I'm just a European, so death is not something that is celebrated.

In Western society, youth and the beauty people possess when they're young are the standard for us all. People are almost as afraid of getting old as they are of death itself.

Also, with science surpassing religion the last decades, heaven is far from a security. As is any 'afterlife'.

It's only normal that you want to hold on to the world as you know it.

I'm inclined to disagree. Generally in the West we still celebrate death. A funeral is mournful, but by its very definition it is a celebration. Been to a funeral? Notice how everyone talks about how awesome the person was? It's a celebration. It's from the Christian tradition, and the Western is profoundly Christian, no matter how liberal and secular we become.

If we were truly non-religious, we would absolutely lament the passing of a loved one, but they would just be put in the ground to avoid death pollution (real terminology). Things such as marriages and funerals are hang-ons from a more religious past, and as such, death is still a celebration in Western culture.

In my country, it's mostly just the Christian past, but the indigenous Maori still hold cultural beliefs to do with death. The dead one is taken to their ancestral homeland, where a tangi is held in their honour. The immediate and wider family stay overnight with the body, opened up, kissed, hugged and talked to, before burial the next day. They believe the person's soul remains there until burial, before it heads north to the tip of the country, where there is a marvelous Pohutakawa tree that points the spirit in the direction of the ancestral homeland of Hawai'aki. Beautiful stuff really, but it's still a celebration.

[RagnaToad]

I'm inclined to disagree. Generally in the West we still celebrate death. A funeral is mournful, but by its very definition it is a celebration. Been to a funeral? Notice how everyone talks about how awesome the person was? It's a celebration. It's from the Christian tradition, and the Western is profoundly Christian, no matter how liberal and secular we become.

If we were truly non-religious, we would absolutely lament the passing of a loved one, but they would just be put in the ground to avoid death pollution (real terminology). Things such as marriages and funerals are hang-ons from a more religious past, and as such, death is still a celebration in Western culture.

In my country, it's mostly just the Christian past, but the indigenous Maori still hold cultural beliefs to do with death. The dead one is taken to their ancestral homeland, where a tangi is held in their honour. The immediate and wider family stay overnight with the body, opened up, kissed, hugged and talked to, before burial the next day. They believe the person's soul remains there until burial, before it heads north to the tip of the country, where there is a marvelous Pohutakawa tree that points the spirit in the direction of the ancestral homeland of Hawai'aki. Beautiful stuff really, but it's still a celebration.

I really disagree. A funeral is a ceremony, but it's hardly a celebration. If you're going to be all theoretial maybe, but even then. I don't think every ceremony can be seen as a festivity. We do not celebrate that he is dead, we try to make the best of the mourning process (i.e. funeral).

I can hardly imagine anyone on the street answering 'yes' to the question if they think they celebrate someone's death.

Collins Cobuild Dictionary gives two definitions for 'celebration':

1. A celebration is a special enjoyable event that people organize because something pleasant has happened or because it is someone's birthday or anniversary.
2. The celebration of something is praise and appreciation which is given to it.

I can see how that latter definition could be applied to a funeral. Collins even gives an example: This was not a memorial service but a celebration of his life...

We try to make the best of a funeral, and try to remember the best things of the departed ones, but I don't think everyone dressing up in black, talking in whispers and some people crying counts as 'celebrating'.

[Alpha]

I really disagree. A funeral is a ceremony, but it's hardly a celebration. If you're going to be all theoretial maybe, but even then. I don't think every ceremony can be seen as a festivity. We do not celebrate that he is dead, we try to make the best of the mourning process (i.e. funeral).

I'm a Catholic (yes, but a very liberal one), and to me, and many others, a funeral is a celebration. We mourn the passing of our loved one, and the fact that we won't see them again for the time being is a terrible feeling. So we are sad. BUT, if one is to believe in an afterlife, then for one to die and go to Heaven (in whatever shape or form) is an event to be celebrated.

You cannot deny that a funeral in Western countries are based on this tradition. So even though, to the non-religious (and, to an extent, the religious) a funeral is sad. It is still technically a celebration.

[RagnaToad]

I'm a Catholic (yes, but a very liberal one), and to me, and many others, a funeral is a celebration. We mourn the passing of our loved one, and the fact that we won't see them again for the time being is a terrible feeling. So we are sad. BUT, if one is to believe in an afterlife, then for one to die and go to Heaven (in whatever shape or form) is an event to be celebrated.

You cannot deny that a funeral in Western countries are based on this tradition. So even though, to the non-religious (and, to an extent, the religious) a funeral is sad. It is still technically a celebration.

I'm gonna say I disagree again, pal.

Thinking of a funeral as a celebration does not make it a celebration.

In theory, you could consider a funeral to be a celebration of some sort, considering the underlying values, but that's stretching it I think.

Isn't a 'celebration' an occasion on which you 'celebrate'? If a funeral is a celebration, then anything is.

Even a moment of silence for the holocaust. To name something random.

[Dodie16]

I have a friend who is from Peru. She says that when a loved one passes away, they have a celebration of thier loved one's life. So, I guess it's more like a party than a funeral. I'll have to ask her more about it, because we didn't get too involved with the details.

I have a typical view of death (probably). I am not afraid, but it's not exactly something I look forward to. I realize that we all reach the same ultimate destination, but I hope my journey is a long and fulfilling one before it comes to an end. I mourn for my friends and family that have passed away.

[IceColdPillow]

Ragna said it right, youth and energy are worshipped. Being old and dying are feared, people in western society do all they can to avoid looking old or being old.

But me personally, I have no fear of death, it's just a natural occurence that eventually will take us all, but I don't worship it. I just go day to day and plan ahead for a long life, death dosnt concern me at all.

[RamesesII]

Thinking of a funeral as a celebration does not make it a celebration.

In theory, you could consider a funeral to be a celebration of some sort, considering the underlying values, but that's stretching it I think.

Isn't a 'celebration' an occasion on which you 'celebrate'? If a funeral is a celebration, then anything is.

The actual funeral event can't be called a celebration unless you are from the cultures who actual do celebrate the death of someone believing that they are actually moving on to a better (after) life, i wouldn't go and say that the actual burying the person or lowering a coffin is the celebration but some people do not hold a wake but a celebration instead of the persons life and achievements.

But i point i brought up in the original post is that people celebrate death in general not the actual passing of people but the actual symbolism of death. And every year they do celebrate the dead and death.

Here is a bit of info about a culture or religion that does actually celebrate the death of people.

For many of us it is hard to marry the word death with celebration. Ma Anand Disha was a sannyasin (a devotee) of Osho and Osho is very clear that death is as much a matter for celebration as anything else in life. He describes death as a final let go, an ultimate surrender of the body vehicle, an opportunity for the spirit/soul to merge again with the oneness of existence.

To me that sums it up quite nicely.

[GHOSTED]

In the words of Denise Mugford
"Life is the curse. Sleep is the remission. Death is the cure."
I agree with that quote. Death is serious but at the same time beautiful. Death is an entrence into peace, a cure to the hate and sorrow the world puts on people. To Fear death is pathetic to be honest...it would be like fearing birth, or life. Thats what I think.