Can you still do a Viking funeral?

Although having a ‘Hollywood style’ Viking funeral would be logistically impossible and completely illegal, having an authentic Viking funeral is actually legal. Cremation or burial on land or sea to emulate Viking funeral rites and customs is a real possibility in the USA.

What is a real Viking funeral?

Cremation (often upon a funeral pyre) was particularly common among the earliest Vikings, who were fiercely pagan and believed the fire’s smoke would help carry the deceased to their afterlife. Once cremated, the remains also might be buried, usually in an urn.

How do you do a Viking funeral?

A ship containing the deceased is placed on a funeral pyre, with grave goods alongside including his weapons, silk quilts and a couch covered with cushions. The deceased is dressed in specially prepared, expensive funeral clothes. The ceremony also involves the sacrifices of various animals and a slave girl.

Why are funeral pyres illegal?

Legality of open-air pyres In ancient times burning bodies was a practiced form of burial. Even today people tend to bury the dead or cremate them. Open-air cremations, known as funeral pyres, are uncommon and even illegal in some countries, particularly in the Western World, because it is considered taboo.

Did Vikings burn their dead in boats?

On rare occasions, Vikings did burn their ships to pay special tribute to prominent members of their community as part of their burial practices. Archaeological evidence shows only a few instances of such ceremonies and launching ships out to sea and setting them ablaze most likely never happened.

What is a Viking send off?

Images of a flaming boat pushed out to sea is what most people imagine when thinking about a Viking funeral and most people assume that the body of the deceased is fully cremated with an eventual burial at sea. The decision to send-off cremated remains or another item is crucial. …

How do Vikings say goodbye?

Heil og sæl – Wikipedia.

What do Vikings believe about life after death?

When Vikings died they believed they would go to Valhalla, where they would spend their afterlife. Warriors who had died bravely would be carried by the Valkyries to Valhalla. There they would be welcomed to the afterlife by the god Odin, with whom they would feast every night.

What is the Viking Death Prayer?

Lo, they do call to me. They bid me take my place among them, In the halls of Valhalla! Where the brave may live forever!”

Can you keep a dead body in your house?

The answer is yes, it’s legal. Every state has their own laws, and we have pretty relaxed laws in California. For the most part, the only laws we have in place are ones that govern funeral homes. They establish how Caitlin and I handle the dead once they’re in our possession, but they do not govern the private citizen.

How is a body prepared for cremation?

How is a body prepared for cremation? After the funeral director has collected the person who has died, they will keep them in a cool, temperature-controlled room in the funeral home until the service can take place. Embalming isn’t necessary for cremation, although some families request it.

Did Vikings sacrifice humans at funerals?

Sacrifice in Funerals The living had to sacrifice not only the dead’s gold, household goods, and best clothes, but frequently the deceased’s pets, horses, and favored servants during the funeral as well. Slavery was a key part of Viking life, and many Viking burial mounds include ritually butchered men and women.