Followers of some religions attempt to bury their dead within 24 hours of death. Because of this tradition, some cemeteries now offer nighttime funerals with floodlights. Even if nighttime funerals aren't the norm, some communities have found that quick funerals are in such high demand that it necessitated this change.
Many also thought that night focused on the sorrow and sadness felt by the family at the loss of their loved one. Night funerals could be organized more quickly, since the requirements of the heralds could be ignored.
Most funeral services take place either late in the morning or around midday, often during the week. This allows family or friends who are travelling a long distance to arrive in good time and it usually fits in well with the arrangements for the wake or funeral reception.
Visitation, Wake or Viewing
Held the night before or immediately prior to the funeral service, the visitation – also called a wake or a viewing – provides a way for friends and acquaintances to pay respects and offer condolences.
The name “wake” originated because unknown diseases had plagued the countryside causing some to appear dead. As the family began to mourn, they would awaken. For this reason, the body is waked in the deceased's home for at least one night.
Should I attend both the wake and the funeral? It is respectful to attend both, but not compulsory. If you don't feel comfortable attending the wake, or you have a prior commitment you can't avoid, it's polite to let the grieving family know in advance – a phone call or message is usually appropriate.
Typically, funerals are held within a few days up to a week after the person's death. This gives the family enough time to make arrangements with the funeral home and contact the loved ones of the deceased.
Professional mourning is brought up many times throughout the Bible.
Cenotaph - a grave where the body is not present; a memorial erected as over a grave, but at a place where the body has not been interred. A cenotaph may look exactly like any other grave in terms of marker and inscription.
A repast is any gathering of people after a funeral service. Some people called it a reception, which is the term most commonly used. That said, repasts are less formal than a funeral service or memorial.
In Australia a funeral is commonly held between two and five days after a person has passed away. There are a range of factors that can impact this timeframe, and if those family members helping with the arrangements are overcome by grief or located elsewhere it would be reasonable to extend this timeframe.
A hospital is allowed to keep the body of a deceased person in a hospital mortuary for up to 21 days after the date of death (section 80 of the Regulation). Hospital mortuaries are designed for the short-term storage of a limited number of bodies of persons that pass away in hospitals.
A standard funeral can be up to about 2 weeks after the date of death. If the body is cremated, the family can wait as long as they'd like, but most are done within a month at the latest. If the deceased is already buried or cremated, a memorial service can be held at any later date.
Bella Montoya shocked relatives by waking up at her own funeral about a week ago, having been declared dead after a suspected stroke. An Ecuadorian woman who regained consciousness at her own funeral has now died after having spent a week in intensive care, the country's health ministry said over the weekend.
A closed casket provides more privacy. There may even be religious reasons for a closed casket service. A closed casket service may have been the preference of the deceased, so people would tend to remember them “as they were”. Afamily may just feel uneasy or uncomfortable having an open casket service.
Symbolically, when we choose to close the curtains, the person's who's died leaves us. The coffin disappears from view while we are still there, remaining present to mourn and gather ourselves ready to integrate the changes the death has wrought and re-enter the world to begin a new chapter without them.
Mausoleum burial offers a dignified alternative to ground burial, and offers many benefits to grieving family members. Many who chose mausoleum burial do so to honor a distinctive life, as a loving way to memorialize the deceased, and to provide a beautiful place to visit and remember their loved ones.
To Symbolize Their Visit
Many people leave stones on a loved one's grave or memorial to mark their visit. The symbol of the stone can bring comfort to family and friends, letting them know their loved one has been visited, grieved and prayed for by others, too.
A private grave will normally hold four adult interments, but no guarantees can be made as ground conditions vary from time to time and from place to place, which affects grave capacity. We do our utmost to dig the graves at maximum depth.
Catholic and Christian traditions
Some Irish superstitions say that if you look in a mirror long enough, you'll see a devil looking over your shoulder. Others believe that the mirror traps the soul of the deceased. The practice extends to other Catholic countries.
While it is not common for funeral directors to openly weep, they may get emotional and cry as a result of the sadness and grief they witness. It is understandable that a funeral director may have a hard time maintaining their composure during a funeral service, especially if it is for someone they knew personally.
A Filipino superstition holds that you should not go straight home after a funeral. If you do, death may follow you. So stop off somewhere else first.
There is no set length or duration for grief, and it may come and go in waves. However, according to 2020 research , people who experience common grief may experience improvements in symptoms after about 6 months, but the symptoms largely resolve in about 1 to 2 years.
In the olden days, family members would all gather together in the house of the deceased on the seventh day following the death date. This is when the dearly departed is thought to return back home.