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Funeral homes in both large cities and smaller cities in Lithuania recognize that the coronavirus and quarantine fundamentally change the farewell of those who have gone to eternal rest.
Family members are forced to abandon long-established traditions. In the armory rooms themselves, the songs of the live singers are less and less frequent, and the number of loved ones who come to say goodbye live is decreasing due to the restrictions introduced.
Neither mourning dinners nor traditional hymns
Lithuanian funeral traditions throughout the country, and especially in Samogitia, are probably difficult to imagine without singers playing various instruments and their songs.
It is true that recently, with the tightening of quarantine rules in the country, the number of people saying goodbye to the flag has become limited. That is why relatives gather on the last trip to accompany a person without singers.
“It used to be that singers with organs, harps or other instruments came to the farewell ceremony. It was a different goodbye, two or three hours in the afternoon and an hour of hymns in the morning before melting away. Now there is no more live music, nothing. Now we play background music. People count those visitors and want them to come say goodbye themselves. Less hugs, sympathy expressed through distance. There is not such a close connection, ”said Jolanta Sprainaitienė, director of Vilnius Funeral Home Ritualas.
In Samogitia, people try not to forget the traditions even during the quarantine. Vidas Valauskas, director of the Plungė “Žemaitijos graalis” funeral home, said that there are cases where people do not refuse to sing and sing in the mountains that are common in Samogitia, but in this case not even relatives remain in the armory, just musicians and riders.
From the established traditions, no mourning dinners remained during the quarantine, during which relatives sat down to eat together after all the ceremonies. The trends do not differ in the large or small cities of the country.
“A dreary lunch, they made sense. Everyone sits, prays, eats, snacks, and completes the process. Now this is not the case again and it is really difficult for people, “said J. Sprainaitienė.
Priests are also forced to adapt
Priests also play an important role in the Catholic funeral tradition. In addition to offering mass in the church, they used to accompany the mantle until the last trip from the armory, where certain religious rites were performed. The quarantine forced the priests to adapt. The interlocutors assure that they appear less and less frequently in the corridors of the armory.
“In Plungė, a coffin or urn is brought to church, so the priest does not come to the house of mourning now. He, of course, performs all the necessary ritual procedures and meets his relatives in the cemetery. When it is not brought to the church, the priest comes to us. Of course, during the quarantine, the procedure is limited, restricted “, – the director of” Žemaitijos graalis “spoke about the changed burial process.
It is true that in Samogitia people still tend to bring the coffin or urn to the church, so the priest does all the necessary paperwork for the last trip.
And in big cities, Catholic priests no longer go to armories. Orthodox priests are more common here.
“The priests are careful. For the most part, they go to the cemetery to accompany the person. Orthodox priests come but they shorten their time. Previously, they spent about 45 minutes in the room, prayed and now up to 20-30 minutes. But they are still in the hallway escorting people to the cemetery. Catholic priests are less and less present in the room. Most of them go to the cemetery so that no more people gather. Everything is kept in the cemetery. And prayer, and the consecration of the cross, and the grave pit. Everything is done “, – the director of the Vilnius funeral home” Ritualas “reviewed the changed work of priests.
People “discovered” online farewell
The situation in the world has forced people to react and find ways to say goodbye to the deceased when there is no opportunity to visit him live. People in isolation or abroad have the opportunity to participate in the last trip of the deceased remotely. Joining the halls of the armory and the masses in churches is becoming increasingly popular.
“Modernization is taking place at the farewell of the flag. As in the armory, so in the church, people can see everything online. Practically everything happens online, and now only the closest ones get to wake up with a loved one, it can be said. More people have just arrived at the cemetery. It’s not difficult to convey something these days. I noticed that people are filming or broadcasting the funeral themselves, ”said V. Valauskas.
According to him, the remote connection to the funeral should remain even after quarantine:
“I think it will definitely increase after the quarantine online The need to say goodbye Such an opportunity is like a discovery for humans. Knowing the situation that many close relatives are abroad, it is difficult for them to return. Online Seeing everything, communicating, staying together, whether on the same computer or in another place, will enter into the traditions. “
Restrictions are enforced, but you feel guilty about the quarantine
Still, restrictions and a modified farewell from a family member who left anapilin affect people who bury the flag. Organizers of funeral services point out that people feel guilty for not following all the usual traditions of the person who accompanied them on their last trip.
“You cannot bury yourself, say goodbye to all our traditions. At the same time it oppresses and hurts a person, although he realizes that it is not possible and there is a serious reason, but he feels guilt, dissatisfaction. There are still traditions that have been maintained for centuries, ”commented J. Sprainaitienė.
The director of the Plungė funeral home says that the house of mourning is still the place where the concentration is much higher than anywhere else. That is why the participants pay much more attention to coronavirus prevention and hygiene measures.
“People now use a lot of hygiene products. I mean, for example, hand washing. The need for those hygiene items has practically doubled. People are more likely to remember the need to be careful with this. Often times , we also remind employees to wash their hands and clean the facilities. People are very committed to all the requirements, “he says.
The directors of the Vilnius and Plungė houses of mourning point out that now more often people choose to incinerate the flag instead of burying it in a coffin. True, there are exceptions when choosing not an urn but a coffin.
“It just came to our notice then. Armor time is shortened. Even people themselves rarely want to arm themselves for the day. For those who have died from Covid-19 or had a coronavirus infection, but have died from other causes for armor, if customers prefer a coffin, then it can only be 2-3 hours. In this case, the coffin can only be closed, “said J. Sprainaitienė about the situation.
Previously, the news portal tv3.lt also announced that the funeral of those who died from coronavirus could be even more expensive. Representatives of the funeral home say they may have to pay up to an additional 200 euros. The final amount also depends on the weight of the deceased.
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