巧的是，今年的清明节 (Qingming Festival or Tomb Sweeping Day) 和复活节 (Easter) 正好是同一天（4月5号）。在中国，清明节是人们用来纪念已逝者的日子；而在西方，复活节，这个每年春分月圆之后的第一个星期日，却象征着重生与希望。这也从侧面很好地反应了东西方文化关于死亡意义的不同理解。
当与来自不同文化背景的朋友谈论与死亡有关的话题时，我们通常会不确定这是否触及到对方文化的禁忌 (taboo)。下面，口袋君就为大家介绍一下各种文化背景下死亡的意义：【穆斯林Muslim】Muslims believe that the soul continues to exist after death. During life a person can shape their soul for better or worse depending on how they live their life. Muslims believe there will be a day of judgment by Allah (God). Until then, the deceased remain in their graves but on judgment day they will either go to Heaven or Hell. Muslims accept death as God’s will. 穆斯林们相信人的灵魂在死后依旧会延续。在活着的时候，人们可以按照自己的意志把灵魂塑造成好的或者坏的，但同时，他们相信会有那么一天，真神阿拉会评判一切。阿拉会决定他们的灵魂是升入天堂还是下至地域。穆斯林们认为死亡是神的旨意。【佛教Buddhism】Buddhists believe in rebirth and that when they die they will be reborn again. The goal is to escape the cycle of death and rebirth and attain nirvana or a state of perfect peace. 佛教徒们则相信来世。他们相信死而复生。佛教的宗旨是逃脱这样的生死循环，从而寻找到真正的内心平静。【天主教Catholic】Catholics believe that there is an afterlife and that once a person dies they will see God face to face. If a person has committed a grave offence and has not repented at the time of death then that person would not enter into the full glory of heaven. 天主教徒们认为，人们死后还是会在另外一个空间延续另外一段人生，并且可以和神父面对面。如果一个人犯了严重的罪行，却没有在死之前忏悔的话，那么此人死后则无法升入天堂。【基督教Christian】Christians trust they will go to heaven to be with God once they have died and so in some respects a funeral is a time of joy, although also sadness, as the person will be missed by friends and loved ones. 基督教徒们相信，他们死后会升入天堂和神父在一起。所以，对于他们来说，葬礼上虽然会有亲人们的眼泪和思念，却也不乏是一件令人欣慰的事（因为可以去见神父了）。【东正教Orthodox】（包括俄罗斯和希腊）Followers of the Greek Orthodox religion believe in eternal life. While death is the separation of the soul (the spiritual dimension of each person) from the body (the physical dimension), the physical body will be reunited with the soul at the Last Judgment. 东正教的文化认为，人是可以永生的。死亡只不过是灵魂和躯干分离的过程，而且会在“最终审判”之后重新相聚在一起。
