Posts Tagged ‘memorial’

Five Fun and Interesting Epitaphs

When someone famous or beloved dies, it is common to have a special phrase or quote carved into the headstone. These engravings (or epitaphs) are a kind of parting gift to the world; more public than your last words and more permanent than a note written on paper, these messages are what people who visit your gravesite carry with them for years to come. (more…)

Popular Tourist Cemeteries in the United States

Although few people associate cemeteries and death with their ideal vacation plans, visiting local cemeteries is actually a popular tourist practice. Fusing history and nature, cemeteries have a way of capturing a city’s culture in ways that more traditional tourist sites do not—and because they are almost always free to the public, they provide a low-cost alternative to many kinds of national monuments, museums, and theme parks. (more…)

Five Most Famous Mausoleums in the U.S.

Mausoleums are one of the most iconic cemetery features. Known alternately as tombs, vaults, catacombs, and crypts, the term is used to describe any place of burial that stands as a separate building. They are often large enough to hold multiple bodies, and it is common for families to own their own mausoleums as a way to bury several generations in one location. (more…)

A funeral or memorial service is just the start of your bereavement process. Losing a loved one isn’t something you just “get over” or “recover from.” It’s a lifelong journey of finding ways to cope and enjoying the positive things that remain.

Funerals are a great way to kick start this grieving process, but they often leave a sense of emptiness behind. Once the funeral planning is done and the guests have departed, it’s time to begin finding your new path through life—often with only yourself to rely on.

For many, creating a memorial space at home is an ideal way to begin this journey of healing. In addition to allowing you a physical space to mourn (that’s not as far away as a cemetery), you may find comfort from having memories of the deceased so close by.

1. Dedicate a space for the memorial. A mantelpiece is the most common location, but any niche or corner (or even a shelf on the bookcase) will do. A coffee table, a desk, or even an entire room you don’t use may also apply.
2. Place an urn or photo in the space. If you had the deceased cremated, you can keep an urn of the ashes in the memorial space. If not, you can place a photograph or beloved item (shoes, a stuffed animal, a favorite hat, a trophy, an award medal, a wedding ring) in the center location. Anything that reminds you of the deceased and brings you joy will work.
3. Consider flowers, decorations, and other commemorative items. There’s no rule about how many things you need to put in a memorial space, so feel free to include anything you feel is relevant to your relationship with your loved one. Some people also like to put up seasonal items (in much the same way you might place seasonal decorations at a grave site).
4. Burn candles or make offerings. Depending on your spiritual beliefs, you may want to light special candles or burn incense. Aromatherapy candles can provide a double benefit if you choose soothing, healing scents that bring you personal comfort or remind you of the deceased. (Make sure you never leave anything on fire unattended.)
5. Keep it up as long as you need. The great thing about a memorial space in your home is that you can keep it up year-round, and with the exception of an occasional dusting, you don’t need to do anything to maintain it.

The need for having a safe, physical space to mourn is why we have cemeteries and memorials in the first place. So much about death is intangible, and making a physical connection with those we have lost is difficult. A personal shrine or memorial space not only gives you more flexibility in your grief, but it allows you to personalize the process so that you can always feel connected.

Funeral keepsakes often involve jewelry.

It can often be difficult to come to terms with the death of a loved one, especially if the deceased was particularly young or their death was unexpected. Although things like viewing the body or having an open casket can help with the process of saying goodbye, it can sometimes take more than that one final goodbye in order to truly let go.

Funeral keepsakes—ones that provide a physical reminder of the deceased—offer a way to link the past and the present, and to start moving through grief. This type of memento may not be for everyone, but if you’d like to have a more tangible memory, talk with your funeral director to learn more about the following options.

• Thumbprints, Handprints, Footprints: For infants and very small children, a keepsake handprint or footprint can be turned into artwork for the home. Because it’s a fairly (more…)

Peaceful cemeteries help loved ones heal.

Most people know how to behave at a funeral or a memorial service, when respect and reverence are called for in equal proportions, but cemeteries provide a trickier funeral etiquette question. After all, cemeteries are public places open to the entire community—not only as a place to mourn, but to visit relatives, research local history, enjoy the ambiance, and even go for a jog.

Most cemeteries have their formal rules posted near the gates, and you should always take a moment to read them for specific information about where you can go and when. It’s also a good idea to follow these general cemetery guidelines. (more…)

Sending a sympathy card to a family who has just experienced a loss is a kind and low-cost way to show your support. Because too many funeral flowers can be overwhelming—and because many people would rather not receive financial support or gift baskets—sympathy cards allow you to share your regrets without overwhelming the family.

Because of the nature of death and dying, most sympathy cards and the messages for sympathy cards are religious in nature. However, not every family appreciates spiritual sentiments at this time, or you yourself may be agnostic/atheist and don’t wish to send a religious card. (more…)

Nothing arouses curiosity quite like a death—and a celebrity’s death is cause for even more speculation. In addition to questions about how and why a beloved media icon passed on, we often find ourselves questioning our own emotional responses. (more…)

Although the funeral industry is typically slower to change than many other fields, there have been great advances lately regarding burial options, memorial services, and funeral technology. More and more people are turning to online platforms to share their grief and make their advance funeral plans, and the traditions of the past—heavy on the more ornate process of burial in a cemetery—are being set aside for more streamlined funeral options. (more…)

Most funeral plans revolve around a fairly traditional ceremony. Whether at the funeral home or at a local place of worship, family and friends gather to say prayers, sing hymns, share stories about the deceased, and pay their parting respects. While the details surrounding this ceremony vary (in addition to location, you can make decisions regarding funeral music, funeral attire, food and beverage options, audio-visual components, and the officiant), most of us have a fairly good idea of how the process works.

So too do we envision the graveside service. When the deceased chooses to be buried, it’s common to hold a second service at the cemetery, to say prayers and watch as the deceased is lowered into the ground.

(more…)