[Neil]

When I've seen media coverage of people at funerals (particularly in the Middle East) everyone is wailing and crying hysterically. This is very different from Western funerals I've seen and attended. Is this a cultural difference, and are there any particular reasons for it?

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Name : Neil, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 27, City : Cambridge, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : Publishing, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Elizabeth]

I am not an authority, but growing up in the Middle East, I know that in comparison to Europe and North America the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cultured are hot-blooded people. They express their emotions in hot-blooded and extreme emotional ways. In some countries, Greece being one of them, there are women whose 'occupation' is as professional mourners. These women are called to participate in funerals of people they don't necessarily know and whale loudly so the dead will know or hear that he/she is being missed and mourned over. As well, in countries like Greece, Cypress and Italy (and probably more countries I don't know about) once a widow, always a widow. These women dress in black widow cloths for the rest of their lives.

So I would say in answer to your question, I think it's simply the cultural difference and the way people express their grief. If it interests you, a study on burials would boggle your mind, looking into some cultures ceremonies such as the Tibetens, who eat their dead...

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Name : Elizabeth, Gender : F, Religion : New Thought Movement, Age : 37, City : Newburgh, State : NY Country : United States, 

[Patrick]

There are places (some in the Mideast) where it was and still can be common practice to hire wailers for funerals. These people would come to the funeral and grieve extra hard for your loved one. Supposedly, the more noise is made, the more the deceased is missed. This concept makes no sense to me - when I die, all I care about is that my body is respected; aside from that, do with it what you wish.

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Name : Patrick, Gender : M, Race : Irish, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 18, City : Los Altos, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Ebony]

The reason you see is because it shows how much you loved that person and hurt by their death. The louder the cry the more love you had for that person. In East Europe and Eypyt some people are paid mourners. They show up and cry real loud and wail. The more people doing it, the more they were loved and missed.

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Name : Ebony, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 23, City : Utrecht, State : NA Country : The Netherlands, Occupation : Student, Social class : Middle class, 

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