Funerals

A memorial service, often called a funeral and often officiated by clergy from the decedent's or bereaved's church or religion. A funeral may take place at either a funeral home or church. A funeral is usually held three to five days after the death of the deceased. Some people consider it important[citation needed] to conduct the funeral exactly three days after the death. More

Visitation

At the visitation (also called a "viewing" or "wake") the body of the deceased person (or decedent) is placed on display in the coffin (also called a casket). The viewing often takes place on one or two evenings before the funeral. The body is traditionally dressed in the decedent's best clothes, which may be slit up the back to facilitate dressing the body. In recent times there has been more variation in what the decedent is dressed in. The body will also be adorned with the usual jewelry, including a watch. The jewelry and watch could be taken off and given to the family of the deceased, or remain in the casket after burial, but it most likely will be removed before cremation. The body may or may not be embalmed, depending upon such factors as the amount of time since the death has occurred, religious practices, or requirements of the place of burial. More

Burial

A burial service, conducted at the side of the grave, tomb, mausoleum or crematorium, at which the body of the decedent is buried or cremated at the conclusion. More

Funeral Etiquette

Generally speaking, the number of people who are considered obliged to attend each of these three rituals by etiquette decreases at each step:

• Distant relatives and acquaintances may be called upon to attend the visitation.
• The decedent's closer relatives and local friends attend the funeral or memorial service, and subsequent burial (if it is held immediately after the memorial service).
• If the burial is on the day of the funeral, only the decedent's closest relatives and friends attend the burial service (although if the burial service immediately follows the funeral, all attendees of the memorial service are asked to attend). More

Memorial Service

The memorial service is a service given for the deceased without the body present. This may take place after an earth burial, donation of the body to an institution such as a school, cremation (sometimes the cremations are present), entombment, or burial at sea. Typically these services take place at the funeral home and may include prayers, poems, or songs to remember the deceased. Pictures of the deceased are usually placed at the altar where the body would normally be to pay respects by.

Embalming

Embalming as practiced in the funeral homes of the Western World (notably North America) uses several steps. Modern embalming techniques are not the result of a single practitioner, but rather the accumulation of many decades, even centuries, of research, trial and error, and invention. A standardized version follows below, but variation on techniques is very common. More

Cremation

Some people find they prefer cremation for personal reasons. For some people it is because they are not attracted to traditional burial. The thought of a long, slow decomposition process is unappealing to some; some people find that they prefer cremation because it disposes of the body immediately. More

Cremated Remains

Cremated remains are returned to the next of kin in a rectangular plastic container, contained within a further cardboard box or velvet sack, or in an urn if the family had already purchased one. An official certificate of cremation prepared under the authority of the crematorium accompanies the remains and if required by law the permit for disposition of human remains, which must remain with the cremains. More

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