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Funerals
By Eddie Tobey
A funeral is a procession or ceremony held in connection
with the burial or cremation of a dead person. A funeral
is an assortment of customs according to one's religious
affiliations and culture.
In the US and Canada, most funeral rituals are divided
into three parts: visitation, funeral and burial. At the
visitation ceremony, the embalmed body of the deceased
is placed in a casket for friends and family to view the
body. Usually, visitation takes place one or two
evenings before the funeral, and most attendees sign a
book kept by the deceased's survivors to record the
feelings of the friends and family members. Sometimes, a
family might also display photographs taken of the
deceased during his lifetime, or some prized possession
at the visitation. The ceremony usually ends with a
prayer service, and in a Catholic funeral the ceremony
might include a rosary.
The visitation ceremony follows a memorial service or
funeral service, and generally take place at either a
funeral home or church. The funeral service is often
officiated by a clergyman and includes prayers, reading
from the Bible, the singing of hymns and words of
comfort by the clergy. Sometimes a relative or close
friend also gives a eulogy detailing happy memories and
achievements. Finally, the coffin is closed after the
attendees view the deceased's body for the last time.
The funeral service is concluded with a burial service,
conducted at the side of the grave, tomb or crematorium,
where the body is being buried or cremated at the
conclusion. Sometimes, pallbearers or close relatives
and friends of the deceased carry the casket from the
chapel to the hearse and from the hearse to the site of
the burial service. In some traditions, a meal or other
gathering at the deceased's church or another off-site
location follows the burial service.
Funerals are somber occasions, and etiquette demands
that one should attend a funeral of a friend or
acquaintance to pay his last homage to the deceased.
Funerals provides detailed information on Funerals,
Presidential Funerals, Military Funerals, Readings for
Funerals and more. Funerals is affiliated with Golden
Caskets [http://www.caskets-web.com]. |
