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Culture in ancient Egypt surrounding religion was based on festivals, rituals, and worship. The gods were celebrated in various ways both personally and as a community. Life and death being at the center of everything, the practices are extensive for ensuring you are happy in both this life and the next.
It is the family's responsibility to ensure the proper rituals and prayers are done for their loved one, for them to be resurrected (Breasted 57). Funerals are similar to ours today as they were gatherings of friends and family to mourn the dead but after there would be rituals performed by priests as dictated by the Book of the Dead. Tombs would be filled with food and small models of daily life to help them in the afterlife. Depending on the wealth of the family, tombs could be lavishly filled or given whatever the family could afford. As a way to keep the dead with them, they would continue to leave offerings of the dead's favorite food and speak of them often.
Festivals were enjoyed by the entire the community as a way to celebrate the gods. The Sed Festival is one of the oldest religious feasts where the king dresses as Osiris and performs rituals to symbolically show his resurrection(Breasted 39). The purpose behind it was to renew the powers of the king.
It is the family's responsibility to ensure the proper rituals and prayers are done for their loved one, for them to be resurrected (Breasted 57). Funerals are similar to ours today as they were gatherings of friends and family to mourn the dead but after there would be rituals performed by priests as dictated by the Book of the Dead. Tombs would be filled with food and small models of daily life to help them in the afterlife. Depending on the wealth of the family, tombs could be lavishly filled or given whatever the family could afford. As a way to keep the dead with them, they would continue to leave offerings of the dead's favorite food and speak of them often.
Festivals were enjoyed by the entire the community as a way to celebrate the gods. The Sed Festival is one of the oldest religious feasts where the king dresses as Osiris and performs rituals to symbolically show his resurrection(Breasted 39). The purpose behind it was to renew the powers of the king.
There was no set way to practice religion, it was all about what people did to interact with their gods, these actions or rituals is referred to a cult. They would construct temples, hwt-ntr or "the house of the god" for worshiping up to several gods at once (Redford 63). Priests would be in charge of the state temples and conduct the rituals and oversee to its order. Cults could be dedicated to deceased family members as well as living people who were deified.