Funeral Traditions in Crete and Greece

The rituals in a Cretan funeral are influenced by the Greek Orthodox Church and
also by local cultural traditions and etiquette.

A Greek funeral usually takes place within 24 hours of death. The body is dressed
and placed in an open coffin by the undertaker and taken home where it is
displayed prior to the funeral. Relatives and close friends will first visit the
deceased to pay their respects.

The Vigil
The coffin lid is placed outside the front door of the house. Funeral wreaths are
only given by close relatives and these wreaths are placed outside the house
with the coffin lid.

When family and friends arrive at the house they will normally bring a small bunch
of flowers, and offer condolences to the family : “ Zoi se sas “ (life to you) or “ ta
silipitiria mou” (my condolences) or simply ‘silipitiria’ (condolences). They will then
bend and kiss the head of the deceased and lay the flowers on the open coffin.

The vigil goes on until the funeral takes place, often continuing throughout the
night when the funeral takes place the next day. Friends come and go while the
family stay awake by the deceased’s coffin.

News travels fast in Cretan communities. Friends and relatives will attend the vigil
and the funeral without invitation.

Female close relatives in mourning dress in black from head to toe, normally for at
least 40 days, while many widows and mothers who lose a child will continue to
mourn and wear only black for the rest of their lives..
Close male relatives don’t shave for at least 40 days, and may wear a black
armband. Although family members wear black it is not expected of everyone, but
bright coloured clothing should be avoided – sober colours should be worn out of
respect.

The Funeral
The funeral procession leaves from the house at the appointed time and the
open coffin is placed at the front of the church. Those friends who have not
visited the home file past and offer their condolences to the family before kissing
the forehead of the deceased and laying flowers across the coffin.

After the church service they move out to the graveyard for the burial.

Graves are bunker-like and made of concrete. After the coffin has been lowered
into the grave and a blessing performed the grave is closed with concrete slabs
and sealed. Relatives will later decorate the grave with marble and a headstone.

Following the burial mourners may be invited to a cafeneion or back to the house
for coffee, brandy and peanuts.

Memorial Services

A number of memorial services (mnimosino) will be held after the death. The 40
days service ‘ta saranta” is held on the Sunday nearest to 40 days after the
death. The 40 day service is usually well attended, often more so than the
funeral as many of those who were unable to attend the funeral due to the short
notice, will attend the 40 day service to pay their respects.

There is also a 3 month, 6 month, 9 month and one year memorial service.
Thereafter yearly.

At the church memorial service the family place a photograph of the deceased at
the front of the church and each mourner lights a candle as they enter the
church. After the service the family line up and people file past to offer their offer
their condolences. They will be then be offered ‘koliva’ – a wheat mixture,
sometimes raki and cognac too.

Graves
There are a shortage of graves and if there is no family grave nearby then
relatives of the deceased will rent one at the local cemetery, usually for 3 to 5
years. After this time the grave is opened and the bones removed by family
members, washed in wine and then transported either to a family grave where
other relatives lay (which may be miles away from where they died and were
buried – e.g. Athens or another island), or they are kept in a special vault at the
church; an ossuary or ‘osteofilakio’.

Cremation
The Greek Orthodox Church currently forbids cremation as it considers it as being
Blasphemous to the body of man which is "the temple of the Holy Spirit".

However, according to a new (2006) law Orthodox Greeks, and anyone who dies
in Greece can choose cremation as long as they have stated this in writing before
their death or their immediate relatives wish it.
A pre-condition for the cremation is the clear, unequivocal statement of the
deceased, or their relatives," that they wish to be cremated. BUT there are as
yet NO crematoria in Greece.

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