Adieu

Adieu, the final farewell, an exploration of death!

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The word Adieu is from Middle English (11-15^th C) with an even earlier Old French origin, it also has some Medieval Latin connections. It literally means ‘to God’. It is a foreshortening of the French ‘a Dieu vous commant’ or ‘I commend, or entrust, you to God’. It is therefore particularly appropriate for this – a detailed look at death.

As I enter the second-half of my 70s I cannot fail to notice that life expectancy in the UK is currently 78.6 years for males. There are some 5.9m 75 year-old men, my age as I write this, but only 3.2m make it to 80, half that many reach 85 (1.6m), and just an eighth make it on to 90 (under 200,000). Sobering. It’s a little better for women – of course!

I have mostly dismissed pondering death heretofore, so I am overdue to think it through. Mostly I see it as a pressing impetus to get on and use what time I have left.

However, I can’t help being drawn to consider the unusual customs and ceremonies, the unusual burials, the spectacular cemeteries – so this will be a curious, not an anxious, journey!

ADIEU: main index

Introduction

Death – what is it? Should it be feared?

Beliefs – what the religions tell us we should do about death

Famous cemeteries – a look at interesting and beautiful burial places

Famous Burials – some of the most visited graves and memorials

Soul and Afterlife – the key belief in an essence, a spiritual existence

Anomalous beliefs and rituals – weird and wonderful customs

Conclusions – following this journey, how I sum it all up – for me!

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Sub-indexes:

These will help you go to specific areas of interest:

Death

Euphemisms Death statistics Process of death Human death? Causes of death the Soul Extending life Suicide

Beliefs

Burial cultures and practices Religions Six largest religions: – Christianity – Islamism – Hinduism – Buddhism – Sikhism – Judaism Next tier of religions: – Mormonism – Jehovah’s Witnesses – Confucianism – Baha’i Faith – Jainism – Shinto – Zoroastrians – Taoism – Rastafarians

Secular, Agnostic, Atheist Other Faiths: – Paganism – Spirtitualism – Candomblé – Santeria – Chinese Folk Religion – Cao Dai – Animism – Inuits – Satanists Famous Cemeteries Famous Burials Soul and Afterlife Anomalous Beliefs and Rituals Conclusions on Death

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Forward to Introduction - 

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