Sorta like this.
Posted on 04/10/2006 12:39:56 PM PDT by managusta
The strange mixture of joy and grief that marks a traditional Irish funeral, with its week-long drink-fuelled wake, is under threat from a European directive.
The Irish custom that sees corpses kept in an open coffin so the deceased can be viewed during the wake has been endangered by an edict issued by Stavros Dimas, the EU environment commissioner.
He wants chemicals used by embalmers to preserve the cadaver withdrawn under a new biocides directive.
Such a move would see the end of the age-old ritual of "laying out" the body while games are played and food and drink are consumed to the accompaniment of dancing and fiddle music.
Typically the body is bathed, dressed in a white garment and then laid on a bed or table. From that time on it is not to be left alone until the funeral, while relatives celebrate a life well lived.
Once it is laid out, the women start "keening" - a mournful lamentation sung by the women of the house.
A rosary would be placed in the hands of the deceased and each visitor would kneel next to the body for a brief prayer.
Wakes have been celebrated in Irish folklore for centuries. A notable example is Finnegans Wake - a comic song in which Finnegan wakes up in the middle of his own wake.
James Joyce took the title and inspiration from the song when he wrote his novel of the same name.
The Irish Association of Funeral Directors has written to politicians warning that the directive would change the way embalmers prepare bodies for viewing and burial.
The association said: "Viewing the deceased is part of Irish culture and it is recognised that such practice is an important part of bringing closure to bereavement, and ample evidence from psychologists exists to back this up."
The directive, which would come into effect in September, aims to withdraw embalming ingredients such as formaldehyde, which are capable of destroying living organisms.
Mr Dimas's directive has also been challenged by Brian Crowley, the Fianna Fail MEP for Ireland South. He said: "From my reading of the regulation the embalmers may argue a requirement of derogation on the grounds of protection of cultural heritage."
The funeral directors will hold a meeting this month with the Irish Department of Agriculture, which could apply for the ban to be delayed.
It will take time but given time the bureaucrats will suck all of the joy and humanity out of our lives.
Ah, but that requirement only applies to non-European cultures, you see. If you could prove that your embalming practices stem from ancient muslim traditions, however....
Jaysus, the fookin EU is at it again. Saints preserve us all.
Just as long as they don't use formaldehyde to do it, I guess.
So how is that EU thing going these days...?
Modern embalming methods have only been around for about 150 years. If the wake tradition is "age old" how did they do it before that?
Soon the EU will regulate the amount of air you can breathe.
Damn EUrinals
They are looking out for your best interests and they know best. You obedience is appreciated.
It's simple - just drink enough before you die and your corpse will be nicely pickled ;-)
Can't they use Bushmill's as an embalming fluid?
That describes my father in law's method perfectly; he was not embalmed after death according to Jewish tradition. Even with his own "self-embalming" taken into account, 50 hours elapsed between his death and his burial and believe me, that wasn't a moment too soon.
Sorta like this.
Could these nitwits possibly think an organic compound like formadehyde is damaging to the enviornment?
Drinking whiskey till you can't see straight over an open coffin is honoring Christ?
"Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
‘Cos I’m the Taxman"
By the time the body started to smell, nobody cared!
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