In Nepal Hindu culture, families remember their parents (grandparents and greatgrandparents too) on the anniversary of their death. Four years ago today, my mother, Shirlene Damico, passed away at home due to cancer. But instead of dwelling her death, I want to celebrate her life.
Hindus traditionally memorialize the dead with a yearly death ritual known as the shraddha ceremony. Shraddha, coming from a word meaning “faith,” is performed every year on the lunar calendar date of a Hindu’s death . It’s tradition to first conduct the rites in the days immediately after a death in order to help the individual’s soul move onto their next reincarnated life. As noted in “Hinduism: Beliefs and Practices,” “Death rites are important not only for the future of the dead but also for the continued welfare of the living.”
Shraddh – Hindupedia.com
The feature image is my mother with four her boys, Chris, Mike, Tom and Bill. I was off traveling!
