Death

Skopelos Death

A typical element of the death of customs of their adherence to the ancient Greek tradition. However, in conjunction with the popular tradition of Christianity. In Skopelos entire corpse is washed. Also bathed with wine, and a five-lira or lira coin was placed in his mouth. In the past, the deceased was deposited chrami carpet laid on the floor, his head turned to the west. In the whole area, no one swept the floor until the funeral. During the mourning, women let their hair loose and pulled it violently. At the beginning of the funeral procession of a clay water jug ​​was broken on the floor. The memorial service of forty days after his death, suggested that there was boiled wheat, coffee, cognac, and soumada (boiled almond liqueur). Within 40 days, the relatives did not have to eat any meat. No scan or whitewash their lanes, their courtyards, and fireplaces.

Skopelos Funeral

Traditional practices within Greek Orthodox funerals,s are extensively tied to the theology of the faith showing historical reverence to the deceased and theological underpinnings of resurrection. The service takes place as usual in a Greek Orthodox Church and consists of Trisagion service, a series of prayers chanted by the priest and people asking for mercy and eternal rest for the soul of a departed person. The main funeral service or funeral liturgy is known as the “Office of the Burial of the Dead” and involves the readings from the Epistles and Gospels, singing of hymns, and chanting of the “Kontakion”, which speaks of the soul’s resting among the saints. A critical component is the depiction of the body, where people pay their last respects, as well as the priest anointing the body using oil and earth. The burial ends at the cemetery with a final set of prayers, then the deceased’s body is laid to rest inside the grave, and it marks the final return of the body to the earth and the burial of the soul in heaven. At the same time, its emphasis is on the idea of resurrecting and therefore giving comfort and spiritual guidance to the mourning members of the family.