Funerals are a celebration of a person’s journey, from life to death. When a loved one passes away, we take time to reminisce about their presence in our lives and say goodbye to them, one last time! Having the perfect funeral for the deceased is vital as it’s their last remembrance. Families work together to organize the perfect funeral for their loved ones and honour their final wishes.
To do so, one has to decide how they want the funeral to be arranged. Not everyone prefers the same type of funeral. Each family has its own preference based on religion, culture, costs, and traditions. Such factors help to determine if it will be a private or a public funeral and also the location at which it will be held.
There are many different types of funerals one can choose from to commemorate the life of the deceased.
Memorial Service
This is usually held once the body is buried or cremated where your loved one is not physically present at the funeral. Friends and families gather and celebrate the deceased over eulogies given by their close ones, music, and flowers.
Traditional Funeral Service
This method of a funeral includes viewing and a formal funeral service which is then followed by the transportation of the body from the funeral site to the burial or cremation location. This is often costly as it includes the fee of the funeral home, service fee, embalming of the body, and transport expenses.
Direct burial
The body is shortly buried after death, and this method does not include viewing. A memorial can be held at the site of burial or at a later date. This is often less costly than a full traditional service. It is often a more affordable method to bid goodbye to loved ones.
Direct cremation
Likewise, this is also a less expensive method of final disposition. The body is cremated shortly after death and the remains are returned by the cremation service centre to the family which can then be stored at home, buried, or scattered in a personally preferred location of the family or the deceased themselves. Later on, the family can choose to have a memorial service if they feel like it.
Scattering ceremony
Once cremated, some families may wish to scatter the remains of their loved ones into the wind, ocean, or a special location that is close to the family. These ceremonies can be organized in a simple manner where the family silently and serenely scatters the remains into the ocean or a much more elaborate one where ashes are incorporated into fireworks.
This is very similar to service by the graveyard. People gather to bid goodbye, say a few words to honour the deceased, and let them depart on their final journey, It often depends on what situation the family is, in emotionally, how the death of their loved ones occurred, and their financial position to determine what funeral they would prefer.
That being said, whichever way you choose to bid farewell to your loved ones, we assure you that as long as you are consciously present in the service and as long as you loved them, the set-up and the environment do not matter. It is your love for them that does.
