--- title: Burial, cremation, the wake and the grave — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Burial, cremation, the wake and the grave», a lesson of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: After a person dies, families care for the body in one of two main ways: burial, where the coffin is lowered into a grav --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Religion ethics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/) / Burial, cremation, the wake and the gr… # Burial, cremation, the wake and the grave Lesson 63 of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school: 17 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/0/) — After a person dies, families care for the body in one of two main ways: burial, where the coffin is lowered into a grave, or cremation, where the body is turned to soft grey ashes by great heat at a crematorium; the person cannot feel anything, because their body has already stopped working. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/1/) — Picture the cemetery after Grandad's funeral: the coffin goes gently down on straps, the vicar says «earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in sure and certain hope of the resurrection», and Ellie throws a little handful of soil as her goodbye. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/2/) — Afterwards there is often a wake, sandwiches and cake at a pub or a hall, where grown-ups laugh, cry and share stories; it is not a party because he died, but a way of being together, like the Irish wake, Jewish shiva and the Ukrainian pomynky meal. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/3/) — A grave or a place where ashes rest gives people somewhere to go and remember: Ellie brings flowers a few weeks later, and Oliver reads «Rest in Peace» on a headstone from 1850, an old prayer that the person may be at peace. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/4/) — Faiths differ: many Christians choose either burial or cremation, Catholic and Orthodox Christians often prefer burial, Hindus and Sikhs usually cremate, and Muslims and Orthodox Jews bury, Muslims usually in a simple white cloth within a day, as a sign that everyone is equal in death. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/5/) — In a burial the coffin is lowered into a grave in a cemetery or churchyard. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/6/) — At a Church of England burial the vicar says «earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in sure and certain hope of the resurrection». - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/7/) — Throwing a little soil on the coffin is an old way of taking part in the burial and saying goodbye; in Jewish funerals mourners often shovel earth into the grave themselves. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/8/) — Cremation means the body is turned to ashes by great heat at a crematorium, and the ashes are given to the family; the person cannot feel anything. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/9/) — At many crematorium services curtains close around the coffin at the end, as a sign of goodbye. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/10/) — A wake is a gathering after a funeral where people eat, talk and share stories; it helps people grieve together. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/11/) — Ashes look like fine grey sand; families may keep them, bury them or scatter them in a special place. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/12/) — Catholics are asked to keep ashes in a sacred place, such as a churchyard, rather than at home or scattered; Hindus often scatter ashes in a river such as the Ganges. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/13/) — «Rest in Peace», RIP, comes from the Latin «Requiescat in pace», an old Christian prayer. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/14/) — Using «RIP» as a joke can hurt someone who is grieving. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/15/) — Muslims usually bury their dead within a day, wrapped in a simple white cloth called a shroud; Jews often use a plain wooden coffin. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/16/) — Visiting a grave and bringing flowers is a way for the living to show love and remember. - ← previous: [The church funeral](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/) - next →: [Days of remembering: sorokovyny, memorial days, Remembrance Day and the poppy](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/64-days-of-remembering-sorokovyny-remembrance-day-and-the-poppy/) - ↑ back to [Religion ethics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/)