Funeral planning traditions exist for a reason—to provide a time-honored and familiar ritual for those who are lost in their bereavement. People derive quite a bit of comfort from familiarity, and even though funerals tend to be somber affairs, they provide a place for people to turn when they need it most.
So what do you do when it’s not tradition that brings you joy? What funeral options are available to you if you’d rather not perform the same rituals being done all over the world?
The majority of funeral and memorial services are held indoors. Although many people opt to include an outdoor gravesite service in addition to a more formal indoor event, the most traditional funeral planning option is to hold a memorial service in a church, funeral home, or private home. This indoor environment means that it’s easy to control the temperature, ensure that any audio-visual equipment is protected from the elements, and know that everyone will be comfortable as they prepare to say their farewells.
Because death occurs rain or shine, getting outdoors to enjoy a memorial service under the sun might seem like a challenge. However, with the right kind of planning, you can hold a memorial service outside and enjoy a different, more natural kind of funeral.
When you opt for a body viewing or an open casket during funeral planning, there is quite a bit of preparation that has to go in to making the body of the deceased presentable. In addition to techniques like embalming, it is the job of a funeral makeup artist to provide a serene, lifelike pallor to the deceased’s face and hands.
Most people accept funeral makeup as part of the funeral planning process, and one of the many items you’ll be asked to bring (in addition to the clothes you wish the deceased to be buried in as well as jewelry and other personal effects for display) is a photograph of the deceased that depicts her favored type of makeup. In some cases, you may even bring in the actual makeup, since it can be used to recreate the deceased’s normal appearance.
These days, most cemeteries have strict regulations regarding what types of flowers you can put on a grave and how long they can remain before being removed. This is done not to inconvenience families, but to ensure that the grounds remain beautiful for all the visitors stopping by.
Although it is much more common to find artificial flowers and wreaths at a gravesite than it is too see an actual flowering plant in the ground, some cemeteries do hold on to the older traditions that allow you to plant. If you’re fortunate enough to have a loved one buried in this type of cemetery, here are a few tips for planting the right kinds of flowers to ensure year-round beauty.
When most people go into a funeral home expecting to plan a funeral, they have a pretty good idea of what they can afford to pay and how they want to spend their money. Caskets, use of the facilities for a memorial service, funeral flowers, and embalming are all the kinds of things we’ve become accustomed to purchasing. Those who want to save money might decide on cremation or direct burial, while those with a comfortable life insurance policy might plan on going for a little more extravagance.
When it comes to the funeral industry, there are more providers involved than most people realize. From hospitals and mortuaries to funeral homes and crematoriums, the disposition of a body requires careful processing and handling.
Most people are aware of the role a funeral home plays in traditional funeral planning proceedings. This facility, usually visible in the community, is your point of contact with the death care industry. Funeral homes employ funeral directors, who serve as the guide for your family’s decision-making process and provide you with the services and products you need. You can buy caskets, choose burial or cremation, pay for the funeral, and hold a service all on site.
If you’re getting ready to pre-plan a funeral and are looking to save some money on burial costs, it might be a good idea to look into pre-owned cemetery plots. Although the name is a bit macabre (bringing to mind burial plots that have already seen bodies come and go), the concept of a pre-owned plot is actually quite normal.
When it comes to funeral planning, there are no strict rules when it comes to how you set up the memorial service—but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few guidelines you can rely on to help. The order of service (also known as the funeral service sheet or funeral program) is a sort of itinerary for the memorial service, outlining what your guests can expect and providing a memento to take home after the service completed. Religious in nature (but not required to be), this is a great way to organize the day so that you don’t become overwhelmed by decisions.
Because the order of service is such a standard practice for religious memorial services, there are plenty of places you can turn to find more information. You can ask for help and support from your funeral director, religious officials, or even your own ideas of what should or should not be included.
The fear of cemeteries (coimetrophia) or tombstones (placophobia) is a very real thing—just as real as the fear of heights or crowds or any of those things that inhibit a person’s ability to cope in this world. For most people, a fear of cemeteries can be avoided by simply not going to burial grounds or being in any way affiliated with them. Though difficult, life can still go on as normal.
However, when funeral planning becomes necessary or when a loved one dies, these fears can come to the forefront. And because the fear is often so debilitating it’s not possible to go anywhere near the funeral plans, it can lead to quite a bit of unresolved grief and emotions.
When it comes to unique funeral traditions, no one does it quite like ancient Vikings. We’ve all seen depictions of Viking funerals in movies…the longboats with the deceased laid reverently across the prow as a fiery arrow is shot to the deck, the rafts with huge pyres that burst into flames at sea. It’s romantic and dramatic and a proper sendoff for a warrior culture that so many people these days glorify.
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