Funeral

One thing I found very strange in Australian culture is the way they say their last goodbye to their loved ones.

To me it was shocking to find people celebrating with drinks, music of any type and jokes. The funeral is easy to attend here. It all seemed to be a party to me, compared to Cuban traditions, a celebration of something. And last how the body is left to rest forever in the same plot in the ground.

In Cuba I imagine it has to do with the centuries old Spanish tradition of long mourning and respect, together with the lack of religious beliefs (lost with socialisms push for lay beliefs in a vast number of the Cuban population and many hold the belief that death like in animals is the end for a person) this has shaped the traditions in Cuba to be that of suffering.

If it is possible you spend the night before the funeral trying to sleep as you can in a chair while you pay respects and guard the casket, which is a dreadful experience, and do not dare to play music for a month in your house.

I understand we do not have a reliable transport system in Cuba and it is important to wait for family members traveling long distances to get to say their last good byes. This could be the explanation for the long night around the casket in a room without air-conditioning or food the day before the funeral.

In Cuba some months or a year later the family will go back to the cemetery to take the remains and put them in a small box so someone else can use the plot. Lucky Australia is a big country and you do not need to recycle the cemetery.

I prefer the Australian way now, I understand they celebrate a life that we were lucky to share and it is possible the deceased is in a good place now, in a natural phase of life. It is an easier way to deal with a funeral.