In my country, there is a custom , after the death of a loved one, for the duration of the funeral, and for some time after, to keep all the mirrors in the house curtained. It is believed that this is necessary so that the human soul does not try to find its way back to the house, or so that some evil spirits do not enter the house instead of it. I’m wondering if this custom is common in the US, or at least known?
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I have never heard of this
I feel like I’ve heard of this before, but I’ve never seen it done
No, I’m 50 years old and never heard of it.
I’ve heard of this, I imagine it’s cultural for the individual household. It’s not the norm for all Americans though
It’a not as common, but I have heard of some folks doing this.
I’ve heard of this in like….supernatural or dresden files or something but never seen it.
That’s not mainstream. However, the U.S. is highly multicultural, so I’m sure there are some who do that.
I know that Orthodox and Hasidic Jews have very peculiar practices surrounding the death of a loved one. But I don’t know if it includes covering mirrors. We have Amish people, but they eschew mirrors all the time as they think it promotes vanity.
May I ask, which country are you from?
I have heard of people doing this, not sure who, but it’s not the norm.
Never heard of that around here.
I’ve never heard of this
My family has always done it. Cover the mirrors and open a door or window.
Covering mirrors is a mostly Jewish tradition though other groups may do the same thing. It isn’t common to cover mirrors for most Americans but some do.
I’ve never heard of it
I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never seen it done.
When we used to have home wakes it wasn’t uncommon. Now all this is done in a commercial funeral home in the US.
What country are you from… is a body still set at home for viewing?
I believe it is a Jewish tradition but even then I think it is still rare.
I’ve seen it in movies, but never in real life.
I think that’s a Jewish thing.
I thought it was a Jewish thing? My family does not do this, but I have heard of it.
No
i’m always amazed by the foreign posters who come from countries with monolithic cultures where “everyone in my country does ‘x’.” i guess that is why they think “everyone in the USA does ‘x’.” There is no one culture or way of doing things in America…
Never heard of it, but it’s interesting.
There’s a Jewish tradition to cover mirrors while morning sometimes death. I’m not aware of it outside of that Jewish tradition.
I’ve seen it done before, but it’s not a common practice.
Do what with the what now?
Not common in the U.S. and stopping the clock is no longer thought of. People have other clocks to determine time of death.
It’s known, but not common as far as I know. I’ve only seen Jewish Americans do this.
The US is a multicultural country, so you’ll find everything here. I don’t think there’s one mainstream way, to be honest. My family is Japanese-American so we cremate all of our dead and burn incense and stuff. I’m assuming my Bosnian-American, Irish-American, Indian-American, etc. friends do it differently, but I’ve never asked them about it.
I’ve heard of that superstition before, but no, it’s not a practice you’ll really find among the general populace here.
I remember once reading a book or watching a tv show that had people from a culture that did that.
It’s not part of the generic american culture though.
The closest thing I have heard to this is a Jewish custom. If a family member dies, the mirrors are covered for several days during a period of mourning, which I recall is usually seven days (maybe eight days sunset-to-sunset?)
The reason that I remember is because mirrors were a sign of vanity, and during mourning, it is important to focus on God and the soul of the family member who died, and not focus on one’s own appearance.
I would guess that it would be uncommon in people from “Reform” or “Conservative” synagogues, but might be more common in “Orthodox” synagogues?
No.
This is not common, though i am sure people do it just to how multi-cultural and how many immigrants we have.
I heard about this being done in the Victorian era but I’ve never seen it done in modern times. I’m sure there are those here that practice this but it’s probably a small group. Or I just don’t get invited to a lot of funerals.
I’m familiar with this practice but have never seen it happen irl.
Never heard of that. Pretty sure most people don’t.
No, I close my curtains to onanise
It’s not the norm, but I have heard of it.
I think it used to happen more in the olden days and probably Victorian times. They were all about morbid stuff then.
I’ve heard of it but I don’t know that I’ve ever seen it actually done.
It was done in the Victorian era but not anymore(at least not generally, there may be families that do it as a holdover from the old country).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OlF-EtoGBo
I’ve definitely heard of this… But no it’s not common at all.. whatever nationality you are, likely the same in America do but not many others
I’ve heard about that being done in other countries. If someone here did I’d wonder what weird religion they were following but wouldn’t say anything.
I have heard of this and I saw it in a film once that I don’t recall, but it is not a popular custom in the USA as far as I know
Not something I have ever experienced. I have heard of it being a Jewish tradition but none of the Jewish funerals/shivas I have experienced did it.
But we have 330 million people with a huge variety of cultural backgrounds so I wouldn’t be surprised if someone does it.
What country are you from where people do it? If you don’t mind me asking.
I’m 54, born in Texas and currently live in GA.
My mother’s family (Irish heritage from California) used to drape mirrors with black crepe after a death in the family. Not to completely cover them, but as a note of mourning. The men in my mother’s family would wear a black arm-band for 7 days after a death as well.
My father’s family from Texas didn’t have the same tradition and thought it was weird when I did it for my mom’s death.
That’s not something I’ve ever experienced in my family / social circles
It is part of the Jewish mourning practice to cover mirrors in the family’s house (which may or may not be the house of the deceased) during the week of mourning following the funeral. This is not related to preventing evil spirits or keeping the soul of the dead person from returning. It’s avoiding vanity while in mourning.