What to do with candles after the funeral of the deceased, in the house, in the church, and in the cemetery, is a question that is very important for every believer. After all, all Christian manipulations associated with funeral rites must be carried out correctly in order not to harm people.
Considering that every person faces death, it is very important to conduct the funeral ceremony correctly, and most importantly, to know what to do with the candles that are left after the funeral service for the deceased. The clergy can tell you about this.
Why is the deceased buried with his belongings?
The custom of placing various things in a coffin along with the deceased arose in ancient times and is practiced in many cultures. Historically, it is associated with belief in the afterlife: it is assumed that objects buried with the body are necessary for a person in the afterlife. In Christianity, it is permissible to place objects in the coffin that were of particular importance to a person during life, however, such a gesture is only symbolic and does not imply that the person enters the other world along with these objects. In addition, the Orthodox funeral canon provides for a special funeral package.
Superstitions associated with fire
Before the invention of the electric lamp, a candle was the only way to illuminate a home. The fire bewitched, giving rise to faith in the irrational. A number of signs and superstitions associated with wax objects have formed.
- The crackling of a flame is a bad sign that warns of damage directed at a person. If candles crackle during a funeral and go out as they approach you, there is a high probability of death.
- Blue flame means the imminent death of one of the household members. The color of the light warns of the presence of the spirit of the deceased in the room at the wake.
- Do not light more than 2 funeral attributes from a cinder - it will lead to poverty and illness. Do not use fire from the stove.
- It is forbidden to blow out candles. You can extinguish it with caps or your fingers.
- If the products go out on their own for no reason, this is a bad sign. If the candles go out at a funeral, it is believed that they have fulfilled their purpose and the soul has found peace in the afterlife.
- Dropping the lamp from your hands means a quick wedding. If a ritual object falls in a church, it means trouble.
- Do not light a fire for the health of the deceased.
- If in a temple a flame accidentally spreads to a person’s hair or clothes, a strong love spell is cast on him.
- It is forbidden to give wax candles from funerals. They accumulate negative energy.
- If you see a paraffin product on the ground, do not pick it up. The attribute was used in magical rituals. The one who dropped used the services of a magician, a witch.
Funeral, wedding, baptismal, aromatic candle is a symbol of light, hope, faith in any religion. People awarded them magical abilities and came up with superstitions. The priests insist that the task is to illuminate the path for the living and the dead.
The article has been verified by the site editors
Why can't you throw it away or keep it?
It is prohibited to keep items brought from the cemetery, especially those that were used during funerals and funeral services. They contain negative energy. You should not touch them. Dead energy can cause harm to the deceased. In this case, there is a risk of developing diseases, and sometimes death can occur. The outcome depends on the duration of contact with cinders.
Wax has the ability to accumulate information, so it can have both neutral, beneficial or negative effects.
Insult to faith
If you throw away candles after a funeral service in church for the deceased, this can also have consequences for the believer. Christians have a special attitude towards ritual attributes. The wax used during the funeral service of the deceased is blessed. This means that it moves into another category of objects: from ordinary it turns into a shrine. Derogatory treatment of sacred objects is a sin tantamount to blasphemy against God.
If there is no suitable place to hide cinders, you should visit the temple, where there is a container for them.
Magic rituals of necromancers
Things from the cemetery have absorbed negative energy, they can negatively affect living people, so it is not recommended to take flowers or objects from graves. In addition, products that touched the deceased can help create a connection with the other world. This explains why necromancers often use them during rituals to harm the living. One of the common ways to use cinders left after a burial is to spoil them.
Funeral service: sacred meaning and features of the ritual
The rite of burial (popular name - funeral service) is a type of worship. The official name in the Trebnik is Deadly Followership. This action is carried out once directly over the body. The place where rituals are performed can be different: a temple, a cemetery, a private residence, a mourning hall, and even a morgue. The last one is chosen if there is no choice. An absentee funeral service is another service; for this, a number of conditions must be met.
The purpose of holding a funeral service is to help the soul.
After death, the ethereal shell does not know where it ended up or what is happening. The funeral service partly facilitates this transition from earthly life to the afterlife. In addition, worship helps the soul gain strength to correctly perceive what is happening. This can be summed up in one word – parting words. The Church gives it only to believing Christians. Otherwise, the funeral service will not be held. For this reason, according to church canons, a person must be baptized. If he did not partake of this sacrament during his lifetime, after death he will be deprived of parting words, which are filled with Divine meaning.
Services are often confused: funeral service and memorial service. There are many similarities between them, but there are key differences. Thus, a memorial service is held many times, a funeral service is held only once. A characteristic feature of such a service is chants. Thanks to this, the service received a second name - funeral service. Moreover, it cannot be called a ritual. There is a significant difference between these concepts. Thus, worship is an expression of the essence of belief, represented by symbols. A ritual is the performance of an action. Features of the service - burial rite:
- the body is brought into the temple to the sound of bells;
- then the alternate reading/chanting of prayer words and poems begins;
- during the recitation of the stichera, all relatives and friends give the last kiss to the deceased, while you need to touch the aureole on his forehead;
- then continue reading prayers;
- the choir enters.
At the final stage, the priest intersects the deceased with earth - sprinkles it on the coffin. He pronounces the last parting words: “The earth is the Lord’s, and its fulfillment, the universe and everyone who lives on it.” Another prayer is said, after which it is allowed to close the coffin and nail the lid.
Funeral service for the deceased
In what cases is the icon not placed next to the deceased?
The same prohibitions are imposed on placing an icon in the coffin of the deceased as on the funeral service itself. The general list of people not honored with posthumous services is as follows:
- suicides;
- those who deny Jesus Christ are atheists, atheists, and infidels;
- those who have not undergone the sacrament of baptism, including those who died in infancy.
In the listed cases, the priest may be present at the burial, lead the coffin to the grave with the words “Holy God,” but the prescribed set of prayers and psalms is not read. That is, respect is shown for the deceased as a person, but not as an Orthodox Christian.
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What to do with the icon from the coffin after the funeral?
There are many informal options for what to do with the coffin icon once the funeral is over.
Devout people leave it in the temple where the funeral service was held, or they assign the temple in honor of the saint who is depicted on the icon. Others leave it in the church for 40 days, while the soul of the deceased goes through ordeals and ascends to Heaven, after which they take it to themselves. The icon that was placed in the coffin along with the deceased is allowed to be kept at home and, moreover, placed together with others on the iconostasis. It is believed that on days when the deceased is commemorated, it should be placed separately and a lamp or candle should be lit.
What to do with candles
After the funeral service and funeral, relatives must collect the remaining wax products. The cinders are placed under the back of the deceased, in the jacket pocket. If they are buried in a closed coffin, they leave the attributes on the lid and lower them into the grave with them.
If the candle from the funeral remains intact and has not been used for its intended purpose, it is recommended:
- Periodically light a lamp at home.
- Use for prayer to remember the deceased.
- Take it to the temple, place it for the repose of the deceased. There is a separate place in the church with a cross and a special candlestick. Check with the workers and the priest where you can put the candle.
- Burn it on the ground and leave the cinder there.
Do not use funeral paraphernalia at home. Energy is aimed at accompanying the deceased to the afterlife. It is forbidden to use candles in spells, rituals for good luck and health. Leaving funeral attributes at home means bringing a piece of the dead world, holding the soul of the deceased.
After the funeral
After the funeral, it is necessary for one of the relatives to spend the night with the family of the deceased for the first few days, so that the soul of the deceased can be at peace for his relatives. The next day, you must definitely go to the cemetery to visit the deceased in the “new place.”
After this, the deceased is visited twice a year : on All Souls' Day and on Remembrance Day (date of death). On these days they clean up the cemetery, bring flowers, place jelly and pancakes on the grave. Important: you should not cry in a cemetery, so as not to disturb the soul of the deceased. For the same reason, it is forbidden to travel to the grave frequently.
Memorial services for the deceased after the funeral are held on the 9th day (at this time he “gets acquainted” with heaven and hell), on the 40th (the soul appears at the Last Judgment), six months later, and every year on the day of death (Memorial Day). On days 9 and 40, be sure to order a memorial service in the church to help the soul enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It is impossible to mourn the deceased on the days of remembrance, as his soul is disturbed.
A widow must wear a black scarf on her head for 40 days so as not to incur damage to herself. All the things of the deceased remain in the house for the same time, while his soul travels on earth, after this time, things can be distributed, or put them in boxes and put in an inaccessible place (pantry, garage), and the last bedding (if the person was sick) burn. For 40 days, a glass of water and a towel are placed on the window so that the soul can wash and dry itself.
If anyone else in the family dies in the near future after the funeral, there will definitely be a third dead person . During the year, relatives need to mourn, they cannot attend festivals, or marry, so as not to offend the deceased.
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If you dream of a dead person
The deceased appears to his loved ones in a dream during the first days after the funeral, usually to ask for something.
There are cases when the soul of the deceased asked for favorite household items (comb, jewelry, shoes) in a dream.
You can transfer the required item to the deceased through other deceased people. To do this, you need to come to the cemetery, wait for any funeral procession and put the necessary thing in the coffin, “asking” the deceased to hand it over. Or in such cases they turn to the priest, where they order a funeral prayer.
Category: question-answer
Is it possible to take candle stubs to the temple?
Expert opinion
Father Pavel
Clergyman
Some believe that wax products after the funeral service can be placed in the temple for the repose of the deceased. But it’s better to talk to the assistants or the priest, he will tell you what to do. A common practice is to place such cinders in special containers.
How to properly place a candle in a temple?
Expert opinion
Father Pavel
Clergyman
To light a candle for repose, you need to find a small table on the temple grounds; it usually has a square shape and is installed on the left hand side of the entrance. It is necessary to cross yourself, but not traditionally: once or three times, but only twice. Then you should light the candle you brought with you. It must be placed in a special cell (there are many similar ones there). In this case, it is recommended to mentally turn to the Lord with a request to rest the soul of the deceased (name).
Candles for the repose
Why are 12 candles lit at a funeral service?
Expert opinion
Father Pavel
Clergyman
This is a long-standing custom. Previously, it was customary to light 12 candles as a symbol of lighting the path for the deceased. In addition, according to the Orthodox tradition, the flame symbolizes the Non-Evening Light of Eternity.
We brought the candles home after the funeral service: how to burn them?
Expert opinion
Father Pavel
Clergyman
If you bring candles home, there will be no big mistake. Yes, it is not recommended to take things from the cemetery. But a cinder that has not burned out can be re-lit, only at home for the purpose of saying a prayer for the deceased.
Cigarettes after the funeral service
Candles after the funeral service, what to do with them next - options?
Expert opinion
Father Pavel
Clergyman
You can consider ways that will not be perceived as blasphemy of God:
- leave candles after the funeral service in the church;
- put in a coffin - pocket or under the back of the deceased;
- leave at the grave;
- dig it where no one goes.
The choice of option should be made taking into account the circumstances. For example, when you are in a cemetery, it is easier to leave candles on the grave.
Candles after the funeral: what to do with the house after the funeral?
Expert opinion
Father Pavel
Clergyman
Wax products can be immediately taken to the temple. It doesn’t matter where they were before: they stood at the coffin before the funeral, they were burning during the funeral service. Those cinders that have not yet burned out can be used at home, then they, as well as the rest, must be left on the territory of the temple.
How to light a candle for repose?
Let us light funeral candles according to the canon accepted from time immemorial:
- Approaching the icon with the Crucifixion, an Orthodox person crosses himself twice.
- From the burning candles he lights his own.
- The candle is placed in a free cell. Secure it with wax so that it does not fall or come into contact with others.
- While he lights the candle, the believer silently repeats a short prayer: “Rest, O Lord, the soul of Your departed servant (name of the deceased).”
- In conclusion, you should once again cross yourself in front of the icon and bow to it.
- If you light several funeral candles, then all steps must be repeated the required number of times.
In what cases is the icon not placed in the coffin?
As stated above, the presence of an icon in the coffin indicates the deceased’s admission to the funeral service. Accordingly, for those over whom the priest refuses to perform the ritual, the icon is not placed. List of such people:
- laid hands on themselves,
- God-fighters,
- atheists,
- unbaptized
- of another religion.
An Orthodox clergyman may be present at a funeral, but he does not read the prescribed set of prayers, but only accompanies the deceased to the grave with the words “Holy God.” This way respect for the deceased is expressed.
What to do with leftover church candles?
You probably can’t throw away the leftover candles since they don’t burn out completely, what should I do?
They are taken to church. There is a special place for candle stubs. If you don’t know where it is, you can ask anyone in the church and they will definitely show you. Then they find a use for them themselves.
They can be melted down and made into new candles. Take a 200 gram jar, lower a thick thread to the bottom and hang the tip on the edge. Melt wax or paraffin in a water bath and pour into a jar. Once hardened, break the jar and you will have a nice long lasting candle.
Video (click to play).
Wax is a waste product of bees. It's really a shame to throw away such a product. Let us not forget that our Father did not create bees for the church. The Father created bees for Man. Therefore, you can determine the purpose of the remaining candles yourself.
You need to take candles to the Temple and put them in a box for candle stubs; usually they are located next to large church candlesticks. Church workers collect such cinders and melt them down to make low-grade, cheap candles.
Here is information about what needs to be done with the cinders remaining after the burning of church candles:
As we see, the priest answers that it is best to take them to the nearest temple.
They will most likely be recycled there into new candles.
I think it’s better to take them to church, they’ll figure out what to do with them
I also heard that you shouldn’t throw away leftover candles that, due to some circumstances, may remain at home.
You can, for example, melt them yourself.
And if such a variety is not suitable, you can take them to the nearest church. You've probably seen how there are special trays where the remains of candles are dumped.
What do candles mean in the hands of mourners at a funeral service?
The burning flame symbolizes light, life, love. This is how praying relatives express their affection for the deceased. It is recommended to hold the candle during the service. You need to buy 12 pcs. They are distributed to strangers, not relatives. Do not touch the wax; use a handkerchief.
From the moment of separation (after death), loved ones undertake to support the deceased during his transition between worlds.
Everyone can say a prayer silently or listen to the chants of a clergyman.
At the same time, it is necessary to find a response in the heart to the words that reach the ears of the listener. The sincere connection of relatives with the deceased during the funeral service provides invaluable assistance to the latter when he begins a difficult journey.
Church candle in hand
What needs to be done with candles after the funeral service in the church
Most often, funeral services are held in a church. It is believed that this is the most correct way to give farewell to the deceased. If this option was chosen, candles must be prepared. It’s hard to imagine this service without them. Moreover, it is important to find out in advance what to do with the candle after the funeral service. If the service is held inside the temple, after all the activities are completed, the remaining cinders must be put into the deceased’s pocket. Then the wax, which did not burn completely during the service, will not reach sorcerers, as well as amateur magicians with bad intentions.
If there is no pocket on the deceased's clothes, according to church customs the cinders are placed under the deceased's back.
How to deal with candles after a funeral service at home or in a cemetery
The burial ceremony can also be held at home (a funeral hall is also being considered for this) or in a cemetery. Moreover, the actions are the same: it is necessary to bury the cinders remaining after the service. But this must be done when all the manipulations by the clergy have been completed. If relatives are unsure when to move to this stage, they can check with the funeral organizer or priest.
It is strictly forbidden to take cinders from the cemetery home; it is forbidden to take them with you to a funeral, or to store them as a memory.
You need to understand what to do with the candle after the funeral service for the deceased: it is given to the person who distributed it, then it is placed under the deceased’s back or buried where no one walks.
Funeral service at home
Why is an icon placed in the coffin of the deceased?
Religious paraphernalia is another matter. The icon in the coffin indicates that the deceased belongs to the Orthodox faith, that he was baptized, led a decent life and is ready for the funeral service. An icon with the face of St. Nicholas the Pleasant is most often placed in a man’s coffin, and the Mother of God in a woman’s coffin. If there is a small icon with a saint that is consonant with the name of the deceased, then they place it. The patronage of a saint after death will help the soul overcome all adversity and find peace in Heaven.
When choosing ritual goods, a person focuses on his duty towards the deceased. After all, organizing a decent funeral in Minsk is the only thing that a living person can do for someone who has passed on to another world.
Ritual goods
Handling candles after the funeral of the deceased at home and in church
According to the traditions of the Orthodox faith, the funeral service for the deceased is held at home, in church and in the cemetery. Of course, a funeral service does not take place without the use of candles, since they are considered one of the main attributes of faith.
As a rule, in the modern world, in most cases, the funeral service of the deceased takes place in the house where he lived. That is why it is very important to know all the traditions of this ritual and how to properly deal with funeral attributes, especially candles.
Based on Orthodox rules, during the funeral service for the deceased, his relatives must prepare 12 candles, which must be wrapped in a handkerchief or other piece of fabric. At the same time, the prepared candles must be given to strangers, who must hold them during the funeral service by the priest.
After the funeral service, the relative who distributed the candles must collect the candle stubs and put them in the pocket of the deceased. If the deceased's suit does not have pockets, candle stubs can be placed under his back.
In any case, the main thing is that these cinders end up in the coffins, otherwise they can cause a lot of problems for relatives. And it will be bad for the deceased himself, since these unburned candles are conductors for the deceased. But you need to keep the handkerchief from the candle for yourself.
When are candles lit for repose after the death of a person?
On social networks, there is a mournful tradition of publishing poems about a funeral candle as soon as it becomes known about the death of a loved one or acquaintance. Candles for the repose are lit both on the day of death and for 40 days after it. However, before the forty-day period has passed, they are lit for the newly deceased, and only then for the repose of his soul.
Many people are also interested in the frequency with which funeral candles are lit. Traditions do not provide any special instructions. In some houses, candles burn for 40 days without going out. However, most follow this tradition:
- Candles are lit on the day of death. They burn until the body is removed from the house.
- The candle lights glow throughout the funeral dinner.
- The next time the candles are lit is on the ninth day, and then only on the fortieth day.
What to do with candles after the funeral service for the deceased in the cemetery
After the funeral service in a house or church, this ceremony is also carried out in the cemetery. This funeral service takes place differently, but just like in a church or home, it is not complete without candles. As in the previous case, these candles cannot be taken home.
So, after the funeral service in the cemetery, the candles must be buried, because nothing can be taken home from the cemetery. Based on this, candle stubs can be placed in the coffin. But this is only if the priest no longer carries out any manipulations. Otherwise, candles can be left on the grave.
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Subject:
- Death
Bad omens at funerals - on the street and in the cemetery
Under no circumstances should you cross the path of a funeral procession. As a rule, those who do not follow this rule will face a serious illness. It’s difficult to allow something like this to happen.
Some believe that if you cross the path of a funeral procession, you can die for the same reasons that the one who was buried died.
If the grave is dug too large, this could threaten the death of another family member. A similar meaning is attached to a coffin lid forgotten in the house. This should not be allowed.
Relatives cannot carry the coffin. This should be done by friends, colleagues, neighbors or people from the funeral agency - anyone except relatives. Otherwise, the deceased can take them with him. People who carry the coffin must tie a new towel on their arm.
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Have you ever wondered why everyone who comes to a funeral throws a handful of earth on the coffin? To prevent the ghost from coming at night.
You can only close the coffin lid in a cemetery. If you do this at home, death will come to the family of the deceased and to those who nail the coffin.
When they take out the coffin, you cannot look into the windows - it doesn’t matter whether it’s yours or someone else’s, otherwise you will attract death into this house. To ensure that none of the relatives of the deceased die soon, they do not look back.
You cannot walk in front of the coffin - this will lead to death.
If, when digging a grave, they come across what is left of the old one - bones, for example, this foretells the deceased a good life in the next world and means that his spirit will not disturb the living.
Before the coffin is lowered into the ground, coins are thrown in to buy a place in the next world.
