Family members prepared the house for death by stopping clocks and covering windows. Of course, mirrors were covered. This was to prevent the deceased's spirit from being trapped.
Someone has died, and stopping the clocks in the house of the deceased, silencing them, is an old tradition, similar to closing the blinds or curtains and covering the mirrors. The clock would be set going again after the funeral. Some people believe stopping the clock was to mark the exact time the loved one had died.
Mirrors. Individuals who are in mourning, or in a shiva home, are required to cover mirrors from the time an individual dies until the end of shiva. There are several reasons Judaism requires this. The first reason may stem from the idea that man was created in the image of God.
In folk tradition, people covered mirrors to prevent the dead from reaching out from “the other side.” Rabbis interpreted the custom of covering the mirrors to mean an emphasis on looking inward in grief, rather than on the physical.
'Others say you should cover your mirror to avoid bad luck or negative attraction. If you are in a negative space or dealing with a negative situation, mirrors can double the energy in a room and expand the current vibration and frequency.
Having a mirror facing the bed can disturb your sleep, especially if you're sensitive to light. Even if the room is dark, any light reflected off the mirror can cause discomfort and prevent you from falling asleep or staying asleep. It could also give you the impression that you are being watched.
In ancient East, mirrors were regarded as sacred objects having magical powers. They also symbolize water, in that they reflect the world and self, or the enlightened psyche. At the same time, however, they sometimes symbolize arrogance and vanity. Mirrors trigger self-awareness.
It is a common practice to cover the legs as there is swelling in the feet and shoes don't fit. As part of funeral care, the body is dressed and preserved, with the prime focus on the face. Post embalming, bodies are often placed without shoes; hence covering the legs is the way to offer a dignified funeral.
The 40 days is an opportunity for judgment before God. It's believed in Eastern Orthodox religions that the soul completes many obstacles known as the aerial toll houses. The soul passes through the aerial realm, which is home to evil spirits.
Funerary masks were frequently used to cover the face of the deceased. Generally their purpose was to represent the features of the deceased, both to honour them and to establish a relationship through the mask with the spirit world.
Denmark. When a loved one nears the end of his or her life in Denmark, a special tradition unfolds. It's a simple act – a swift gesture that takes little effort, but says so very much: the opening of a window for “the soul” of the loved one to pass through once they have died.
The old age interpretation of a rainfall after a funeral was a good omen. It was believed that the rain was heaven's washing away of grief and sorrow. If a rainbow appeared once the rainstorm ceased, then it was an added affirmation that the deceased now resided with God in heaven.
Like Orthodox Judaism, Islam has very strict views in opposition of cremation; of all the major faiths it is perhaps the most strongly and universally opposed to the practice. For Muslims, cremation is totally forbidden because it is viewed as sacrilegious and haram, meaning a sinful and unclean practice.
Typically, funerals are held within a few days up to a week after the person's death. This gives the family enough time to make arrangements with the funeral home and contact the loved ones of the deceased.
They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person.
Nine night is a separate event to the funeral itself. It's like the Irish wake and takes place nine days after the death of the person. You have a celebration of their life at the point at which their spirit traditionally leaves the body. It's a Jamaican practice with roots in an African tradition.
No matter what a person's preference is, from the Christian perspective, cremation does not prevent one from going to Heaven.
The first, called “shiva,” meaning “seven,” takes place over the seven days immediately following the funeral. During shiva, the family gathers every day in a family home to mourn and pray. For seven days, family members do not go to work or participate in the routine of their normal lives.
OPEN-CASKET FUNERAL ETIQUETTE
If they have an open casket viewing, make sure you follow proper funeral etiquette: DON'T touch the body under any circumstances. Sometimes the casket has a glass to prevent this from happening.
To Protect the Corpse from Being Stolen. Snatching dead bodies was common in many parts of England and Scotland in the early 1800s. Therefore, graves were always dug six feet deep to prevent body snatchers from gaining access to the buried remains.
It has been used to prevent the odor of decay, to give family members closure and prevent them from witnessing the decomposition of their loved ones, and in many cultures it has been seen as a necessary step for the deceased to enter the afterlife or to give back to the cycle of life.
Mirrors are helpful because they reflect energy in the form of light. Mirrors also reflect the positive energy of beautiful objects. Depending on how you use them, mirrors can activate and deflect different energies and let you multiply different elements around your house.
James 1:22-24-26-27 The Message (MSG)
Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!
When we look at a mirror from an angle, we see the image of the object located at the opposite direction. This is because the scattering light of the object is reflected by the mirror and then perceived by observers' eyes.