Laying out
Laying out is the open setting up of a deceased on a stretcher or lounger for a legally specified or an officially approved period in public or private premises before the burial on a bier or in a coffin .
Measures before laying out
After death has occurred, a doctor must first carry out an examination of the corpse and declare the release by means of the death certificate (also known as a death certificate or death certificate ). If the death certificate has been properly issued and there is no notifiable infectious disease, hygienic care should be carried out on the corpse. Thanatopractic treatment is usual for longer or under certain circumstances (injuries, discoloration) . This enables hygienic and aesthetically harmless laying out in the open coffin. The corpse is also dressed in personal clothing or a shroud after care or treatment.
Possible places for a laying out
After that, there is the possibility of keeping the deceased in the house where they died in order to keep them there - in due time, depending on state law; the laying out at home must also take place in compliance with the respective statutory (state) regulations. The legal basis for this is different in the individual German federal states. A corpse can also be laid out in the laying out hall of a cemetery , a funeral home or in a church, provided that the statutory requirements are met.
Open and closed laying out
A distinction is made between two forms of laying out, open and closed laying out. The closed form is the predominant type of storage chosen with around 90 percent. In the case of closed laying out, the deceased is laid out in a locked coffin. In the open variant, the corpse is placed in the open coffin or on a stretcher and can thus be viewed by the relatives.
Function of the laying out
For some people, laying out is an important element of coping with grief. It is precisely the open laying out that makes the death of the deceased clear and can help with processing the events, especially if the death occurred suddenly. Relatives often miss the opportunity to say goodbye "in peace"; this is made possible by the laying out. In the open laying out, you can still see the deceased and say goodbye in peace, while the corpse can be touched, which is not harmful .
Some funeral directors offer the option of relatives to help with the washing of the deceased prior to the laying out to help with mourning. The laying out can be used for the wake , a custom to say goodbye to the deceased at the open coffin. When most people were still dying at home, the wake was practiced in many families in Germany. In the 1950s, the preparation of the deceased by relatives was widespread.
See also
- Mourning hall
- Morgue
- Gasilhane (Muslim)
- Tahara House (Jewish)
- Prothesis (ancient Greek)
- Wake
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bernd-Peter Bertram at a specific place: saying goodbye. Home laying guide. 1996, ISBN 3-927442-46-1 , p. 17
- ↑ Variants of laying out
- ^ Function of the laying out