Ongaro Alessia

CLASSE: 4ALS

1) What is a funeral rite, a ritual and a memorial?

2) What is its meaning?

In this text I’m going to explore the meaning of ritual, funeral rite and memorial.

A ritual is a symbolic activity and it is a feature of all known human societies. Its function is to express our deepest thoughts and feelings about life's most important events.

The funeral rite is a public, traditional and symbolic means of expressing our beliefs, thoughts and feelings about the death of someone loved and it serve as the central gathering place for mourners. Our physical presence is our most important show of support for the living.

Funeral rite also can serve as point of departure for understanding the death. Indeed it helps us acknowledge the reality of the death, gives testimony to the life of the deceased and offers continuity and hope for the living. Bereaved people who have these needs met, through their own grief work and through the love and compassion of those around them, are most often able to reconcile their grief and go on to find continued meaning in life and living.

A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person (who has died) or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks. Instead, in particular, war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or commemorate those who died or were injured in a war.

World War I memorials commemorate the events and the casualties of World War I. Huge numbers of memorials were built in the 1920s and 1930s, with around 176,000 erected in France alone.

Memorials to the First World War are many and varied. Official and private memorials are to be found on the battlefields of the various theatres of that war and in the home nation of those who served from the many countries which were involved in it.