Burial & Grieving Customs…they are a changin’
It is incredible how many burial customs already existed and now through this pandemic, we are adding new ways of grieving our lost loved ones. The live stream videos have made it, so those near and far, can attend a service in real time over the internet. It is a good alternative to not being able to be there at all, but it is very hard to get closure. Even if you are there in person, you are not supposed to hug, but it is almost impossible to not hug the person or persons you are there to see. The ones that are left to cope with missing a part of their lives, their hearts, that’s who the services are for, not for the deceased.
When I was looking at articles about sitting up with the dead, I came across a great article about Appalachian Burial Customs.
I don’t really have pictures of services or burials of my own to share, because I grew up believing that would not be proper. However I have many friends and family that have taken pictures postmortem. I know they do not allow them on Find A Grave, so that is not a custom that is accepted everywhere.
Pictures I do have is family pictures from the after funeral dinner, which is a huge custom in our neck of the woods.
My favorite modern day custom is the memorial video with all the pictures to look at while you are visiting at the funeral home.
A tradition that won’t and shouldn’t ever go away is sending flowers, card, leave a note on the funeral home memorial wall, or some kind of token to let the family know that you care and are thinking about them. Two things that people send nowadays is windchimes and quilts. Sometimes in lieu of flowers there will be a request to donate to a specific fund, which is a great way to honor and remember the dearly departed.
There is something intriguing, almost romantic about being put on a raft and floated out to sea and then being set ablaze for cremation at sea. Which led to this great article about death and burial inspired by “Game of Thrones.”
https://theinspiredfuneral.com/blog/2017/7/22/what-we-can-learn-from-the-funerals-in-game-of-thrones
So I now I have been all over the place in this blog because my mind is just thinking of all the different ways that we could celebrate someones life.
I am going to leave you with this link to a song by The Band Perry, “When I Die Young” because it makes me think of a sweet send off.