This article will talk about the expression that each of us had to listen to: "sprinkle ashes on our heads." What does it mean and where did this expression come from, the meaning of which is so deep and ambiguous, and will not leave anyone indifferent?
As they say, a person can turn gray overnight, so the ashes in the hair on the head symbolize the seal and sorrow. This is repentance and taking all the torment on your shoulders.
History of occurrence
Sprinkling ashes on their heads was made in ancient times among representatives of the Jewish nationality. Moreover, the described action can be found in the Bible. The book of Esther tells about Mordecai, who, as a sign of grief and despair from the grief that overtook him, sprinkled ashes on his head when he learned about the death of the Jewish people, slaughtered by order of King Artaxerxes.
In ancient times, the Jewish people had this custom: as a sign of grief over the death of relatives andclose people to sprinkle their heads with earth or ashes. It was customary on the day of the funeral or at the time of receiving terrible news to violently express one's feelings: to shout loudly, to cry. Perhaps the feeling of guilt consumes the person who has suffered the loss, so sprinkling ashes on the head was regarded as the last "sorry". The unwillingness to part with a loved one, leaving for the damp earth, looked like a ritual of a possible connection with the deceased.
Meaning
Sprinkling ashes on your head is in other words: mourning, mourning, crying loudly about the death of a loved one, the loss of which causes two strong emotions that act alternately, in waves: sadness and grief. Grief spills out violently, it protests, rises against the loss, demands that everything be returned to normal, and sadness is a feeling of humility and awareness of the grief that has overtaken. Sadness is passive, it keeps a person in its captivity for a long time, grief is like a wave hitting a stone rock with incredible force, which immediately releases its prey, but completely deprives it of self-control.
The meaning of the expression "sprinkle ashes on the head" is similar to the feeling of sadness. It is possible to survive this difficult period only in the presence of those people who together are able to share the bitterness of loss. The meaning of this sad event becomes deep and significant if you tell other people about it, see their reaction to what happened. The interpretation of the meaning of “sprinkle ashes on the head” can be extremely important, it is like a signal that a person is “normally, and most importantly, correctly” reacting to grief. Anxiety should not be caused by screams and tears, but by the absence of them, which indicates unawareness of the fact of losing a loved one, which can lead to psychological problems in the future.
Today
It is currently not customary to violently or openly express your emotions about the loss of a loved one. It seems inappropriate for us to do what our ancestors did: to tear our clothes or sprinkle ashes on our heads. What only people did not come up with, what they just did not invent! But no one will give clear instructions on how to survive grief, what to do, what to do? As they say: life goes on and it cannot be stopped, the sun also rises, children are born, young people laugh. The feeling of humility, repentance take possession of the soul.
It is worth mentioning that although an expression of this kind is used in a colloquial form, the semantic meaning is distorted in comparison with ancient times. When they say “sprinkle ashes on their heads”, they may mean that a person takes on a deliberately unhappy look, flaunts his grief as one of the options in order to pity.
Conclusion
In conclusion, summing up what has been said, I would like to note that a person's life consists of ups and downs, happiness and sorrow, loss and gain. Experiencing difficult times in life, people have learned to convey in a few words that abyss of grief, which at least once in a lifetime, but everyone living on Earth will have to experience. No one will be able to alleviate this feeling, but it is worth knowing that suffering for a deceased loved onea person is a process of acceptance and awareness.
