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Memorial Ceremonies - Six Ideas for
Honoring Your Loved One's Passions
By Melody Jamali
When a loved one passes away, it can be difficult to
choose between various types of memorial ceremonies that
you're offered by the funeral home. But you know, you
don't have to select a traditional ceremony. Your friend
or family member may not have lived a traditional life,
so why would you want to have a memorial that doesn't
suit him or her? Below are six ideas for memorial
ceremonies that you can have that will make yet one more
lasting memory about your loved one.
Hold the ceremony on the scattering site
Memorial ceremonies do not have to be held in a church
or community center. When you make plans for a memorial
ceremony, consider having it in the same location where
you plan to scatter the ashes. This may mean that you
postpone the memorial until such a time as logistical
arrangements can be made to get guests to meet at the
location you choose. It can be a park or you can hold it
on a boat in the middle of their favorite lake. Location
should never be a limitation for memorial ceremonies.
However, be sure to check local rules and regulations to
see if any permits are needed or if there are any
requirements that need to be met.
Give guests a memorial gift
After memorial ceremonies, the family is usually left
with the cremains to serve as a memory for the dearly
departed, but what will other guests get to take away
from the memorial service? Why not give guests at the
memorial service a gift to remember the deceased? It can
be a simple token representing a favorite past time,
such as a golf ball or a pin from their favorite
baseball team. Giving a gift allows everyone attending
to leave with a memory of their friend.
Throw a party
Instead of grieving the loss of someone dear, as is
customary with so many memorial ceremonies, why not
celebrate the life they lived? Decorate a local event
center and invite people to bring their favorite dishes.
Be sure that the main course served was a favorite of
the deceased and let guests reminisce about their loved
one on their own terms. Set up a mic and let anyone who
feels the urge get up and tell a story about the
deceased, but keep a spirit of levity throughout the
party.
Send messages to the deceased
In traditional Japanese Odon memorial ceremonies, living
family members write messages on paper lanterns and
float them down a river to reach the deceased. Use this
idea as a starting point and have your guests write
messages to the friend that's no longer with them. How
you "send" the messages is up to you. You can tie them
to balloons and release them or, for a more eco-friendly
approach, you can burn them and let the messages travel
upwards in a cloud of smoke.
Have the memorial in their home
For a long time, memorial ceremonies were held in the
deceased's home. It was only in the 20th century that
funeral homes started handling the details of memorial
ceremonies. Why not make a return to older customs and
hold the memorial service in your loved one's home. This
is an especially great idea if your family member loved
to entertain guests.
Organize a community service event around their favorite
charity
So many memorial ceremonies involve sitting and
reminiscing. Why not get your guests up and doing
something good for the community and involve the memory
of your loved one in the process. Hold a memorial
ceremony in their favorite park and then have guests
pitch in to help clean the park in memory and honor of
their friend. It does a good deed for the community and
is a lovely tribute to your loved one.
Melody Jamali is the Founder and President of ( Une
Belle Vie ), a Colorado company dedicated to bringing
choice of cremation to public light. Their company
offers the widest selection in decorative urns for
cremation and includes a wide collection of resources
designed to help families and friends in their time of
need. From tool for the grieving to informative articles
about planning, support and other uplifting thoughts,
Une Belle Vie is a company dedicated to helping your
celebrate the life of the one you love - on your terms. |
