plural of funeral rite

(Christianity, historical) Certain customs or practices of the natives of South India, which the Jesuit missionaries allowed their Indian neophytes to retain after conversion but which were afterwards prohibited by Rome.

In Wicca, ritualistic sexual intercourse symbolizing creation. The Great Rite can also be performed symbolically: the high priest plunges the athame, or ritual knife (the male symbol), into a cup or chalice (the female symbol) that is filled with wine and is held by the high priestess.

(anthropology) A ceremony or series of ceremonies, often very ritualized, to celebrate a transition in a person’s life. Baptisms, bar mitzvahs, weddings and funerals are among the best known examples.

The Latin rite used by the Roman Catholic Church.

A liturgy of any Christian church, spoken in Latin.

The customs of the Catholic church, in general.

(Freemasonry) A rite of Freemasonry consisting of a series of progressive degrees that can be conferred by various Masonic organizations or bodies.

A custom or ceremony pertaining to the recently dead, such as a funeral, public burial, or the Greek custom of breaking clayen vessels on the grave or in front of the deceased's house.

A rite or ceremony that uses water as a central feature