Posts Tagged ‘Funeral’

Loss and death are very personal things, and no one can tell you how the grieving process will affect you as an individual. You might be the type of person to break down, unable to function for the first few weeks as you navigate life alone. You might veer in the opposite direction, clicking into a “get things done” mode until you’re emotionally ready to confront your loss. These are both valid responses—as are any other reactions that fall somewhere in the spectrum between the two.

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Pallbearers are a part of a long-standing funeral tradition in which the casket is carried as part of a memorial service or ceremony to its final place of rest. Once a necessary part of a funeral, pallbearers were responsible for carrying the casket from the church to the graveyard, or even from the home to a graveyard. This could mean quite a distance would have to covered, so strong men were called upon to adopt the role.

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Who you ask to give a funeral sermon is one of the most important decisions you’ll make during the funeral planning process. That’s because so much more than the color of the casket or the types of funeral flowers on display, the sermon provides spiritual and emotional comfort to all those in attendance. Regardless of your religion or views on the afterworld, a moving sermon can help you come to terms with your grief and open you up to others who are in a similar state of shock.

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Although it might seem like an archaic practice to those accustomed to modern funeral planning, sea burials have long been an acceptable way to dispose of human remains. For some cultures, the act of returning the body to the sea is part of a long-standing relationship with the water and its life-giving properties. For others, it is a military honor bestowed on those who gave their life to service at sea.

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Funeral flowers (also known as sympathy flowers) are a common way to show your love and support for the recently deceased. Whether you order a large casket spray for display during a memorial service or a handful of rose petals to shower down on the casket as it is lowered into the ground, flowers are one of the most popular traditions in the funeral industry.

When most of us talk about funeral flowers, however, we mean fresh flowers—an arrangement ordered through a florist in the days preceding the funeral, and for use during the memorial service. Like all fresh flower arrangements, these only last a few days before beginning to wilt. And while there are some great flower preservation options if you want to keep a bouquet or arrangement on display, you also have additional options to look beyond fresh flowers to artificial arrangements.

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Whether your funeral planning efforts resulted in a traditional ceremony and burial, or if you opted for a private cremation scattering, it’s a common practice to invite everyone in attendance to a post-funeral gathering. Also commonly known as the funeral reception, this event provides an opportunity for friends and family members to mourn the deceased (and to celebrate the life he or she had) in a setting that is less formal than a memorial service.

The responsibility for planning the funeral reception typically falls to the immediate family—more specifically, to the same individual who handles the bulk of the funeral plans. If this is too much of a responsibility, however, it might be a good idea to ask for help. Many people come forward to offer their assistance in the aftermath of a loss, and this is a good way to allow them to do their part.

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Even with the recent popularity of pre-arranged funerals and so many people taking steps to ensure that funeral costs are covered years in advance, few individuals know exactly how to plan a funeral. The actual details of the process, including things like selecting a casket, comparing funeral homes, negotiating a memorial service time—those can be a real challenge for someone facing this crisis for the first time.

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Some of the best (and lowest-cost) funeral planning efforts don’t involve buying or arranging anything. In fact, before you do any concrete planning, it’s a good idea to sit down and organize your fiscal and personal information so that everything you need is in one place. By taking an extra step to outline your funeral wishes and to provide a copy of this information to the individual who will be responsible for your estate after your death, you can save quite a bit of time and effort.

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Whenever someone dies in the line of duty—whether it’s a soldier, police officer, or fire fighter—funeral planning becomes more important than ever before. That’s because the deceased is more than just a beloved son or daughter, mother or father. He or she is a hero, and that’s someone that entire communities want to band together to commemorate.

In almost all cases, there are protocols in place regarding funeral planning for a fallen hero. The International Association of Fire Fighters oversees the process of line-of-duty deaths for fire fighters, including how to plan a funeral in keeping with the honor due the deceased.

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These days, more and more funeral planning consumers are turning to online sources for information on choosing a funeral home and knowing their options when it comes to burial, cremation, or alternate body arrangements. Whether they’re researching funeral costs via an Android or building a memorial website from home, people are using their web-savvy skills to make smart choices and plan funerals that bridge tradition and technology.

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