History of Funeral Service - German and Scandinavian (Vikings)

Customs

Belief in an afterlife influenced by war culture; It was of the highest honor to die in battle; There would be place for those warriors in Valhalla; "Fire burial" was practiced for hundreds of years prior to Greek and Roman Empires; Remained prevalent until onset of Christianity

Valhalla

Afterlife for warriors after death in battle

Funeral Beliefs

Cremation was regarded as "protection" - 1. From the dead from harming the living, 2. To "free" the spirit from the "clogging prison of the body,"; Fire was the "emancipator of the soul"; Improperly buried bodies came back to plague the living (Mythology of Aran and Asmundr)

Odin

God of war and death

Ship Burial

Reserved for those of great importance

Burial Mound

Symbolic of rebirth; belief that life or spirit still exists there