Will There be a Funeral, Memorial or Celebration of Life?

Will There be a Funeral, Memorial or Celebration of Life? 

The Three Most Popular Options

Many religions and cultures require certain types of services and time-honoured funeral traditions. For families of these cultures, there is less choice to what a final sendoff will look like. Though, in recent years some people have been opting for less traditional, more creative and personalized services. Whatever the case may be for your family - looking into your options wouldn’t hurt. At their core, all service types are inherently similar. They aim to aid your grieving family and loved ones and help with the acknowledgment of the death on either a private or public scale. They help support your family through bringing together friends, relatives, co-workers, neighbours and the rest of the community. Ultimately, the main idea is to honour and celebrate the memory of the person who has passed away and the life they have lived. Here’s a quick overview of three main options people choose when planning a service. 

The Traditional Funeral 

The traditional funeral is a broad term that lends itself to a more structured funeral service, often founded on spiritual and religious beliefs. In general, it refers to three events that each represents a stage in the funeral process 
  1. A visitation
  2. The funeral service 
  3. A graveside event at a cemetery. 
The visitation is normally held before the service and varies by culture. For some, a visitation is a one-night event and for others, it can last up to a week. The body is usually present both at the visitation and the funeral. 

The funeral itself is usually held at a funeral home or place of worship and is led by an officiant and a celebrant. It can include religious readings, hymns, and prayers - often the close family has an opportunity to speak as well. 

Once this is complete, there is a graveside service at the cemetery in which the burial process is started and the casket is lowered into the ground. This happens after a slow procession from the funeral venue to the cemetery. Receptions afterword with food and drink are commonplace as well.

A Memorial Service

Much like a traditional funeral, a memorial service is more structured and for the purpose of commemorating the deceased. However, there are two main differences:

  1. The body is not present 
  2. The focus is on personalizing the service. 
Memorial services are also held at a larger variety of locations like the backyard, local baseball field, at the community centre, or somewhere important to the person who passed away and their family. They can also be held inside a funeral home in a reception area. Memorial services are more casual than the traditional funeral and can be more uplifting in nature. This is due to the emphasis on memorialization and remembering the life lived, through sharing stories and keepsakes like photos, videos or audio.

A Celebration of Life

In recent years, many Canadians have opted for Celebrations of Life instead of funeral or memorial services. This is because they are casual, uplifting, completely personalized and attempt to celebrate the life lived instead of mourning the life lost. With such flexibility, people have done many different things ranging from lakeside gatherings to a shindig at their favorite bar. The focus is on telling the story and celebrating the achievements, accomplishments, personality, and legacy of the deceased. 

It can be wherever and whatever you want it to be. And because they can take place long after the remains of the person are either buried or cremated - they can be planned without the pressure of time. Leaving all of the possibilities open to the family. 

The best part? Funeral directors are trained on creating experiences like this, and have done so many times. So instead of running around getting quotes for catering, deciding how to invite and thank everyone - you can get the help of a professional.

Share by: