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In Funeral Festivals in America, Jacqueline Thursby examines rituals for loved ones separated at
the time of death, the frivolities surrounding death, funeral foods and feasts,
post-funeral rites and ongoing commemorations, and many other facets of the
American way of dealing with death. Thursby explores how modern
American funerals seem meant to benefit the
living rather than the dead and how festivities surrounding death often develop into an celebrations of the ties between
family members and friends. In her research and interviews, Thursby discovered the paramount
importance of food as part of the funeral ritual. In the
Intermountain West, Funeral Potatoes, a potato-cheese casserole, has become an
expectation at funeral meals; Muslim families often bring honey-flavored fruits
and vegetables to the funeral table for their consoling familiarity; and many
Mexican Americans continue the tradition of tamale making as a way to bring
people together to talk, to share memories, and to simply enjoy being
together. Jacqueline S. Thursby, associate professor in the English department
at Brigham Young University, is the author of two books, including
Mother's Table, Father's Chair: Cultural Narratives of Basque American
Women.
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| Reviews: "A large percentage of Americans in modern society are culturally illiterate in community expectations regarding death rituals. Jacqueline S. Thursby's cross-cultural treatment of current practice provides a primer for Americans hoping to respond appropriately when friends from diverse backgrounds and belief systems are in mourning... By placing today's community and family expectations within the context of their own cultural and religious heritages, the monograph is an excellent introduction into funerary literature."--Register of the Kentucky Historical Society.
"A welcome discussion of the varied rites that surround death in contemporary
and historical America."--Journal of Folklore Research
"Intriguing. . . . Explores some of the most significant and unique of our
methods of dealing with the omnipresence of death in our lives."--Studies in
American Culture
"A fascinating study of American resilience and community spirit at times of
bereavement. Jacqueline Thursby reveals with wit and sensitivity how American
funerals have become celebrations of life, instead of lamentations of death, at
which loved ones mend torn relations through sumptuous banquets, heart-warming
memories, and gregarious laughter. She demonstrates with exquisite detail how
the restoration of communal ties among the bereaved stands central in
contemporary American mortuary rituals, irrespective of their cultural, ethnic,
and religious differences."--Antonius C.G.M. Robben, editor of Death,
Mourning, and Burial: A Cross-Cultural Reader
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