Death ritualshow does your culture find closure after the death of a loved one?
I was raised as a Baptist-Christian and so it was assumed that if the person who had passed was indeed a born again Christian, then they were going to heaven. We would have a wake, where anyone who wanted could stop by the funeral home and view the body of the deceased and pay their respects. The funeral is usually a day or so later where a mini sermon would be preached regarding the life that the person had led while providing an invitation for anyone who hadnt gotten right with the Lord, should do so then. Since we know not the day or the hour in which we would find ourselves laying in the same place. My husband if Jamaican and were both okay with being cremated. I dont think our families will happy with the decision but we just dont feel like its necessary to spend all of that money to have us buried. Im an organ donor so Im okay with my viable organs being harvested and cremating what is left.
Sickness rituals-
I was a sickly child. Every time the seasons changed to fall/winter, I got sick and stayed sick. I had really bad asthma and often got bronchitis. For the first 8 years of my life I was raised by my grandmother and when I was sick she would have me suck on lemons. She believed wholeheartedly that me sucking on the lemons would help bring the mucous up. If I was feverish, she would also have me drink something hot and then get under the covers to sweat the fever out. Once I moved with my mother, she would do the same things. When I was really sick once and she couldnt afford to take me to the doctor, she made me a hot toddy, had me put on pajamas with long sleeves and had me get under a really heavy blanket. I remember feeling like I was cooking from the inside out! I must say that when I awoke the next morning my fever was gone and was already starting to feel better. To this day my mother does the same thing to herself and she also did it with my brother.
