INTRODUCTION
Everyone is born and everyone dies; these are two cornerstones of the foundation of humanity. The study of funeral customs and rituals relates directly to the grief process and how humankind works through the loss. This paper explores some of the funeral rites of different countries and how those customs demonstrate the psychology of grief and emphasize their importance in the overall grieving process. It highlights how their similarities unite humankind as a whole and how their differences reflect the importance of cultural understanding in grief counseling.

DISCUSSION
In my research, one of the primary gauges for the grieving process I found is the Stage Theory of Grief. This theory categorizes grief into five stages; disbelief, yearning, anger, depression, and acceptance. The study outlined in one article followed the progress of 233 people whod experienced the death of a loved one over the course of a three year period. The results of the study showed that the stages of grief the participants experienced fell in line with what the stage theory predicted, except that disbelief was shown not to be the predominant emotion initially. It was interesting to me to that this study found yearning to be the most common of the five indicators, rather than depression (Block, Maciejewski, Prigerson, and Zhang, 2007). But how does the funeral affect the grieving process? How important are the funeral customs and traditions of ones specific culture to the psychological well-being of one who has lost a loved one? In Burying the Dead, Creating the Past", Eelco Runia pointed to humankinds need to commemorate. He used examples of monuments and memorials for tragic and historic events as well as the popularization of past battle sites to be blaring instances of this human desire. While Runia focused on  humanitys need to commemorate those lost to large tragedies, whether by natural disasters or by war or acts of terrorism, it seems to me that this concept can be applied on an individual basis as well. Dictionary.com defines commemorate as:

1. To serve as a memorial or reminder of: The monument commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
2. To honor the memory of by some observance: to commemorate the dead by a moment of silence; to commemorate Bastille Day.
3. To make honorable mention of.

In essence, this is what the funeral is, an outward expression of our desire to remember and to honor those whom we love who have passed on. In summation of the article, Runia talked about just that. How the practice of burial expressly provides us with closure without requiring that we forget, he said by burying the dead we create, not our future, but our past." (Runia, 2007, Pg.325). Funeral rites demonstrate that directly; how the individual is portrayed in death will weigh heavily on how we remember their life. In Jamaica, funerals and wakes are very socially significant rituals. It is common practice for funerals to be held two to three weeks after the death occurs to allow for family and friends to gather from all over the world. The funerals are large and elaborate events often including many colored balloons and large parades to escort the body to graveside. The casket in particular is viewed as a status symbol reflecting the significance of the deceased as well as the family and the community at large. Ceremonies held in poorer communities are significantly less elaborate; though hold many of the same elements and entire communities will pool funds to purchase a very expensive designer casket for the deceased. The wake is a commonly held tradition no matter the social status. These elements; the wake, the elaborate funerals, and the expensive caskets, all combine to emphasize the underlying work of commemoration of the dead (Paul, 2007). Similarly, in Ghana, Africa the extravagance of the funeral emphasizes the importance of the deceased in life. The ceremonies, depending on the money available to spend, can include professional mourners, a band, beer, soft drinks, and food. The Ghanaians view the funeral as being as important as the life of the person who passed and they sometimes spend upwards of two-thirds the average annual income on the casket alone (Kobina, 2007). The frozen lands of Russia are a stark contrast to warm climates of Jamaica and Africa yet the traditions to honor the dead are not that different. May the Earth Be as Soft as Feathers", by Laura Williams described the funeral of one aged Russian woman in which the entire village participated. Two women handled preparation and dressing of the body, one man made a simple wooden coffin while two men dug the grave in the frozen ground beneath the snow. The 18 members of the village joined together in a procession to follow the sled which carried her body to the graveside. They carried a wreath of artificial flowers, a religious icon wrapped in white cloth, and spruce boughs to aid the spirit of the departed in finding her way home. After the burial the villagers joined together for a wake and ate and drank moonshine in honor of the deceased villager. Nine days later they held another wake at the graveside, the belief is that God passes judgment on the soul on the ninth day, so they ate and drank again in remembrance of she who had passed on.

Another study compared bereavement between two more starkly contrasting nations, the United States and China, and highlighted the Chinese culture of continuing to nurture and support an individuals bond with the deceased. In rural areas of China many of the ancient customs have remained which involve many days long rituals where the entire community pulls together to chant, make offerings of food, and hold many gatherings of the family and friends of the deceased to honor them. The customs in urban areas of the nation have been heavily influenced by the Chinese Communist Party reform; however still maintain the importance of that connection between the living and the dead by careful consideration for the disposal of the remains of the deceased and by maintaining that persons reputation after their passing. This connection is an essential part of the overall bereavement process of the Chinese people. By contrast, the Western philosophy for grieving is one of severing those ties to allow the individual to move beyond the loss and allow them to find new connections and bonds to draw strength from (Lalande and Bonanno, 2006). Yet, Erika Doss explored some new trends in grieving in America in her article Spontaneous Memorials and Contemporary Modes of Mourning in America" which suggested less of a difference between the two. Doss pointed to modern examples such as roadside memorials that families erect to commemorate loved ones whove died in automobile accidents, online virtual memorials where anyone can publish information about a lost family member, and recent practices for mourning pregnancy loss as material reminders of ongoing relationships between the living and the dead" (Doss, 2003, pg. 304). Of all the nations around the world, America is one of the most culturally diverse, and yet the funerary customs in this great nation seem to hold a common theme; the communion of the living. Families often hold celebrations whether it is a wake or reunion or a simple gathering together for food and conversation, it is for the honor of the dead and the propagation of the stories of life (Thursby, 2006).

It has been suggested that one of the failures of current treatments for grief is that they do not take into consideration an individuals background and particular cultural differences that would be important in how that person reacts and how they grieve (Lalande & Bonanno, 2006). Through my research and the writing of this paper I found that there are some vastly differing funeral rituals and customs, but there are also some very apparent underlying themes that unite humanity as a whole. The coming together of community and of family to honor the deceased loved one, whatever the cost or sacrifice, is of utmost importance through the celebration of their life, the telling of their stories, or giving them an elaborate and expensive send-off. However, it seems that our way of thinking, the very definition of our reality differs greatly between cultures. We do ourselves a disservice by ignoring those differences and can do nothing to help the grieving by the general application of any one concept (Valentine, 2006). It is the differences rather than similarities that are profoundly important in consideration of grief work and understanding of bereavement. The contrast between the elaborate festivals in Jamaica and the simple and hard observance in Russia alone help to punctuate the need for cultural awareness. I have learned the importance of viewing each individual death experience through the eyes of their own background and circumstance rather than through a universal scope (Beder, 2004). It is also important to note that current trends in the industry indicate a rising desire for more customization of services and more options as well as an increase in people pre-planning their own services (NFDA, 2007). This shows a growing desire for the ability to make each service even more unique to the individual. The funeral, by and large, is a reflection of the life of the one who has passed on. It is the final chapter of their lifes story; the punctuation mark to emphasize who they were as a person. The research for this paper left me with no conclusive evidence to support whether or not the funeral service in and of itself is instrumental or insignificant to an individuals bereavement. However, one thing was made clear, that funeral customs across the globe are held in highest importance to the people who arrange them, the people who were closest to the deceased in life and who are most affected by that loss. That importance is indicative of a significant meaning in the hearts and minds of families, friends, and communities at large that gather together to celebrate, commemorate, mourn, and remember the life of their loved one.

REFERENCES
Beder, J. (2004). Lessons about bereavement. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 9, 382-387.
commemorate. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved November 26, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/commemorate
Doss, E. (2007). Spontaneous memorials and contemporary modes of mourning in America. Material Religion, 2(3), 194-319.
Kobina, N. (2007). Bankruptcy and burials. Economist, 383(8530), 49-49.
Lalande, K.M.; Bonanno, G.A (2006). Culture and continuing bonds: a prospective comparison of bereavement in the United States and the Peoples Republic of China. Death Studies, 30, 303-324.
Maciejewski, P.K.; Zhang, B.; Block, S.D.; Prigerson, H.G. (2007). An empirical study of the stage theory of grief. JAMA, 297(7), 716-723.
Paul, A. (2007, June). No grave cannot hold my body down": rituals of death and burial in postcolonial Jamaica. Small Axe, 23, 142-162.
Runia, E. (2007, October). Burying the dead, creating the past. History and Theory, 46, 313-325.
Thursby, J.S. (2006). Funeral festivals in America: rituals for the living. Kentucky: University Press Kentucky.
Valentine, C. (2006, February). Academic constructions of bereavement. Mortality, 11(1), 57-78.
Williams, L. (2004, January/February). May the earth be as soft as feathers". Russian Life, 1, 44-45.
NFDA, (2007). Funeral Service Trends. Retrieved November 28, 2007, from National Funeral Directors Association. Web site: http://www.nfda.org/page.php?pID=118