What is the significance of a funeral

It offers group support by creating a common experience with those present. All Rights Reserved. Funeral Planning. Grief and Loss. Hospice and more Advance Directives Find Advance Directives in your state. People often undermine the importance of funeral services, especially when opting for cremations. Direct cremations, in particular, are quite popular as they are cost effective.

Basically, they do not involve viewing, embalming, or other similar preparations. Certain crematoriums, nonetheless, allow witnessing services wherein the relatives and representatives of departed loved one can witness the cremation process.

They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief and unspeakable love. Perhaps no other moment in the funeral process is as powerful as the final disposition.

For survivors, this is a strong symbolic moment, a confirmation that they must let go of the person who dies and look ahead to a changed life. For this reason, it is important families choose the kind of final disposition most meaningful to them and most appropriate for the deceased.

Earth Burial, otherwise known as interment, is the most common form of disposition in the United States. Americans seem to prefer the idea of a final resting place and a gravesite where they can go to remember the person who died. Like burial, entombment offers a fixed, final resting place. A funeral allows everyone to publicly acknowledge this change and begin offering the mourner support in their new status.

Second, funerals often wake us up and make us think about our lives and how we want to spend our remaining days. They remember and reconnect with what is most meaningful to them in life. They strengthen bonds with family members and friends… [and] emerge changed, more authentic and purposeful.

The best funerals remind us how we should live. These purposes are not necessarily distinct steps and may happen in any order, but they are intertwined.

The funeral experience as a whole is like a rite of passage. We emerge transformed, with a new identity, a new relationship with our lost loved one, and a new relationship with our community. Unfortunately, not all funerals are successful in helping us heal. This is because we have lost part of our understanding of why funerals matter and how to create a meaningful and healing funeral ceremony that will give us a good start on the healing process.

For more information on funerals, their purpose, and how to create a personalized, meaningful, and healing ceremony, check out the articles below:. Should a Funeral Be Efficient or Effective? Cremation and the Importance of Ceremony. The 6 Purposes of a Funeral By christy.

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