4 Myths and Misconceptions About Funerals
Chances are that very few people like to think about funerals, and how to plan one properly. However, funerals are a necessary part of life, and they give surviving friends and relatives time to grieve and pay their respects, and may also provide them with a sense of closure. If you need to plan a funeral for someone or are preplanning your own final arrangements, note a few myths and misconceptions about these events so that the process is much easier on you and everyone else involved.
Viewing
It's something of a misconception that a funeral always involves a viewing of the body, laid out in a casket. You may not be comfortable with that part of the funeral, and many funeral goers often agree that it's a bit unsettling. If you're preplanning your own funeral, you may not be comfortable with being on display after you've passed away.
Not that it's not required that a body be displayed at a funeral; instead, you can show enlarged photographs, or even have slides or a home movie shown. The body doesn't even need to be in the funeral home or church, but can be cremated or transported to the gravesite before the funeral, if those are your preferences.
Religion
A person's religious beliefs and their funeral have gone hand-in-hand for centuries, and their beliefs or the teachings of their religion have typically dictated how a funeral is conducted. However, it's a misconception that funerals always need to be religious, even when held in a funeral home. Today's funerals can be very secular, with no mention of god, religion, the afterlife, and the like. A person's life can simply be celebrated with memories being shared by participants, or persons might read favourite poems, or even openly discuss the deceased's atheism and their own beliefs about death and the afterlife.
Funeral direction
Some persons believe that you don't need a funeral director, especially if the funeral will be in a church or if you're preplanning a funeral. A funeral director is still very necessary, as he or she will coordinate with a hospital or other location to transport the body to the church or funeral home, and then also to a crematorium or cemetery. They can ensure that embalming is done or that the deceased's ashes are delivered and received properly. They can also place death notices in local papers and elsewhere, and assist family or those planning the funeral with many other details, to ensure the event is carried out according to their wishes.
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