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We have scoured the internet to fine these odd and bizarre facts related to death throughout culture, history, and even celebrity. If you enjoyed these truly weird facts and stats, please feel free to share using the HTML below but please include a link to us!
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One of the primary factors in choosing advance funeral planning is the convenience it offers family members. No matter how clear your wishes might be or how much time you put in to planning your burial arrangements, the details of the funeral – and the costs associated with them – almost always add a strain on family members during an already overwhelming time.
However, many people aren’t comfortable with funeral pre-plans, which are becoming one of the most popular ways to reduce family strain and cost. In a funeral pre-plan, a decision is made to work with a particular funeral home or cemetery, and you can pay all the costs up front, and at today’s rates. You can be as involved as selecting your own casket, or as detached as simply choosing the right burial plan and setting aside the funds.
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Whether you’re funeral planning for yourself or facing the recent loss of a loved one, you will most likely work with a funeral director to ensure that all the burial and/or cremation arrangements are set. Funeral directors are the professionals who either run a funeral home or are hired by the funeral home to assist with end-of-life arrangements. Larger funeral homes may have more than one director, so that the attention and time you need is available.
Some of the decisions you make together will be the most important and difficult you will ever encounter, so being comfortable with the professional in charge is a good idea. Questions to consider include:
Green funerals, which are defined as any funeral plan that put an emphasis on reducing the burden on both the earth and the wallet, are becoming an increasingly popular choice in the modern world. It doesn’t matter whether you are funeral planning in advance or if you are facing the sudden loss of a loved one – “going green” is a great way to honor the deceased while also making responsible burial decisions.
One of the best things about planning a green funeral is that there are many ways to overlap traditional burial arrangements and cremation plans with a more eco-friendly approach to both life and death.
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One of the biggest drawbacks to funeral planning in this day and age is the cost and time needed to bring together a wide net of family and friends who span the globe. When loved ones don’t live near the deceased, it can be difficult to attend the funeral services, leading to feelings of guilt, disappointment, and, in many cases, a lack of closure that can be almost impossible to overcome.
In an attempt to reach more people and make funeral planning easier for families who don’t all live in one concentrated area, some companies are taking funerals to the web. Funeral webcasting, which places live or saved footage of a memorial service online, is becoming a popular and cost-effective way to bring people together to honor the deceased and share memories.
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In the midst of death, grief, and funeral planning, it can be very difficult for families to cope with the loss they face. Everyone grieves in a different way, and providing support can be a challenge – especially if you’re uncertain what you can do that won’t add even more worry or work to an already overburdened load.
Depending on how well you know the family (and your location), here are a few different types of support you can provide.
Ask what you can do to help with the funeral plans. Although showing up at the funeral home to help pick out a casket or providing your thoughts on cremation aren’t great ideas unless you’ve been directly asked, it is nice to offer your support. Let the family know that
you are willing to help out in any way you can, even if it’s a simple as gathering favorite
photos or buying a nice flower arrangement for the memorial service.
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Body viewings are a common practice in the United States – a tradition that dates back centuries and continues to flourish even today. Originally a religious custom, body viewings have now become a way for family members and friends to pay their respects and say their final goodbyes before the more formal funeral ceremony begins.
During the funeral planning process, the funeral home director will most likely ask what you and your family would like to do regarding the open casket options. Although you might feel pressured to have a body viewing because it is so common, you are fully within your rights to prefer a closed casket. In fact, many modern green funeral proponents say that the added chemicals involved in the embalming are an unnecessary waste and strain on the eco-system.
Before you make a decision, be sure and check with any funeral pre-plan wishes set out by the deceased as well as the wishes of family members. For some, the ability to view a body and say goodbye is an important step in the grieving process.
Funeral homes aren’t exempt from the technology wave that’s been sweeping industries around the world. From online memorials to new options in funeral arrangements, consumers today are faced with a variety of different options when putting their loved ones to rest.
For decades, one of the biggest obstacles to attending the funeral of a loved one is travel. Families are often spread out throughout the country, and last-minute travel plans aren’t always a possibility. For those unable to participate in the funeral planning or make it to the service in time, video streaming funerals has become a possibility. While the practice sounds macabre, the truth is that it is no different than a video conference or other footage taken and viewed at home. By capturing the funeral on film and making it available online, those who weren’t able to be there can still participate. In some even more tech-savvy families, participation via a virtual conference room makes it possible to give off-site eulogies in honor of the deceased.
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It’s inevitable that as we age, more and more of our friends, relatives, and acquaintances pass away. Funeral planning, which seems so far away during our youth, becomes almost second nature as the decades pass, even though the pain of each death can be just as acute as the first.
For many people in this situation, it can be difficult to reconcile one’s own mortality with the joys of living. However, the real purpose of funerals is not only to commemorate the deceased, but to celebrate life. If you’re having a difficult time with the passing of a loved one, or if you’re seeking ways to look beyond funeral plans to the life you have ahead of you, here are a few helpful steps:
Many times, we are unable to reconcile disagreements, estrangements, and relationships before a loved one passes away. It doesn’t matter whether you spent years not talking to one another, or if the disagreement is recent and still very painful – it’s never easy to deal with death when there are lingering emotions that haven’t been sorted out. And in cases where the emotions are negative, there are even more considerations to keep in mind during the funeral planning process.
Some of the key questions to ask yourself before attending the funeral of someone you have been estranged from include:
Can you (and the family) put aside any bad feelings for the day? Most of the time, a funeral is considered something of a neutral zone, in which everyone is allowed to bereave and pay their respects as they see fit. If this isn’t the case in your particular situation, it might be better to find a different way to say your goodbyes.
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