Fall is a time of the year when many people engage in formal and
informal rituals celebrating loved ones who have died. Honoring the deceased is not a single
act, but a unique personal journey that may consist of various tributes. People
often rely more on grief expressions to help them cope in their daily lives and maintain their continuing connections
with those who have gone.
Latin American communities hold Day of the Dead celebrations that include decorative altars, prayers, food, and other festivities that keep the spirits happy. Folk art skeletons and sugar skulls are prominent. All Saints’ Day is celebrated to honor saints, particularly those who do not have their own feast days. This day and All Souls’ Day, a day of prayer for deceased loved ones and others, often include families attending special masses and visiting cemeteries to decorate graves, pray, and light candles. For most people, remembrance activities are endearing declarations that sustain them during their long-term adjustment to loss.
In New Orleans, a jazz funeral is a death homegoing celebration with the deceased going home, crossing over to the other
side. Mourners come prepared to render a dynamic farewell. After
services at the church or funeral home, a grand marshal leads a brass band and
an assembled group of mourners, along with the hearse, in a procession to the
cemetery to “drop the body.” The band plays solemn music at this time.
Stepping unhurriedly with the beat, participants walk a route down city
streets. When they reach the cemetery, the hearse
slowly enters for final services where they “cut the body loose” as it is laid to rest.
After
the procession of mourners leaves the cemetery, a rousing celebration begins
with the band playing an upbeat song like “When the Saints Go Marching In.” The
funeral procession continues, growing in size with many community members
collectively called “second liners,” who join in the joy with curious
bystanders. A spirited dance called the “second line” is prominent among the
celebrants. Many participants bob umbrellas, some brightly decorated, and wave
handkerchiefs in the air to the hot-sauce beat of the music.
As
this video illustrates, Juanita Brooks, a popular traditional jazz and gospel singer who died, must have been ecstatic
with the large turnout of well-wishers expressing such jubilation in her
send-off.
Frances Shani Parker, Author
Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer
in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book
editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers.
