Observe a ritual (on video, youtube, or in person) from one of the three Western traditions.

Burial Ritual Observation Introduction The observed ritual is a burial in Christianity. The burial ceremony was conducted among Nigerian Christians, celebrating the life of Augustine Odunfa (AIAMediaPro, 2022). The ritual begins by going to the morgue to get the body of the dead person. The process is conducted by a few individuals as the rest wait at the grave site. The body is then transported to the grave site in a casket. Once the casket is near the grave site, individuals remove it from the car and carry it towards the grave. The other people join in as individuals sing. Once the casket reaches the grave, individuals surround it to see it being lowered. As it gets lowered, one of the people reads encouraging words from the bible. In this burial ceremony, the leader reads from scripture how a man who is born of a woman has a short life, and his life is filled with misery (AIAMediaPro, 2022). After individuals have lowered the casket, they take turns dropping soil into the grave in small portions. Bible reading continues. When individuals have thrown soil into the grave to their satisfaction, they take large amounts of soil and cover it. In different ways, the burial ritual is built on different Christian beliefs. Analyzing it helps to show Christian traditions and distinguish them from other religions. The paper shows how the ritual relates to Christian traditions and then compares it with other traditions. Ways the Ritual Relates to Christian Religious Traditions In the Christian faith, the burial is considered a celebration because individuals believe that the dead individual has gone to heaven. Individuals can be sad because they have lost an emotional connection with the person who has passed away. However, they are happy at the same time because of the belief that the individual is in a better place because they are also Christian. When one dies, their soul goes to heaven, where earthly problems such as pain and sickness are not experienced. The celebration occurs when individuals sing and dance as they carry the casket from the car to the grave for burial. The consolation the religious leader gives during the burial proves it is a Christian event. During the burial, the religious leader states that a man born of a woman is to have a short life. No matter the number of years that an individual lives on earth, their life is short compared to the eternity that one is to live in heaven. By stating that one's life is short, the leader alludes to the long life that individuals are to live after death on earth. The consolation is for the people who continue to live, who believe that they will at one point be reunited with the people who have died and continue living together without ever having to worry about death again. Throwing soil into the grave in small quantities before finally covering the grave is based on the belief that Christians have concerning where they come from. God created the first man from mud by molding him. When one dies, their body rots and gets broken down into dirt. Hence, Christians believe that man came from the soil and they will return to the soil when they die and decompose. For this reason, individuals throw small quantities of soil into the dead person's grave to signify that they have returned to dirt, which gives the living an opportunity to remind themselves of their origin. Since this practice occurs at the event, it proves that the burial is Christian. The burial in the Christian setting does not have restrictions if the restrictions do not interfere with people's beliefs. For example, in the Nigerian burial, individuals are allowed to throw money towards the casket once it has been lowered from the vehicle as it gets transported towards the grave site (AIAMediaPro, 2022). In the Christian faith, such a practice is not necessary. Christians believe that individuals cannot leave the world with any wealth. A person's beliefs on earth will determine where they end up after death, and their deeds, if they were Christians, will determine their reward. Hence, it does not make sense to put money in a casket. However, the faith does not restrict those who want to do so from involving themselves in such acts. Individuals still have the freedom to do that if they prefer to. The grave site also proves that the burial ceremony is a Christian ceremony. The burial occurs at St. Peter's Anglican Church (AIAMediaPro, 2022). For a burial to occur in such an area, an individual must hav...