Coffin, Urns, And Webcast Funerals By Edward Wong

Funerals are an event that everyone has to experience at least once in their lives. For the most part here in the United States funerals are mainly carried out in a similar fashion no matter the religion. But what about funerals in other countries? Do they have the same customs we as Americans do? This paper will take a closer look into the funeral customs of other countries around the world.

The article, “10 Burdens Funeral Directors Carry”, written by Caleb Wilde expresses the unique struggles of those working the funeral business. They face numerous challenges through trying to aid and support those mourning a loved one. This often over looked and underappreciated field offers a salient as well as specific service desperately needed by each community. By encountering: depression, psychosis, isolation, stress, workaholism and death itself funeral directors make numerous personal sacrifices to continue to provide honor and respect to the dead.

Dead?" AlterNet. In this article, Frankie Colmane looks into how dead bodies are treated in the United State even after Mitford's expose of the funeral industry was published. The article takes both a philosophical and scientific issue with the procedure of embalming sighting proven negative effects to human beings and the environment. Colmane shows that even though people are aware of the malfeasance and misappropriations of the funeral industry following pieces like Mitford's, very little has changed. Therefore problems that have been discussed in earlier works should not be forgotten. Rather they should be continually brought up until the issue is solved. During the 1800s, embalming became common practice because the dead family member would lie in state within the home for a period of days or weeks until it would be buried (Colmane 2010). The article shows the duplicity such as when "funeral directors were arguing forcefully against charges that their mediation between the living and the dead translated into social obstruction that barred the stricken from facing death with maturity, realism, and honest" (page 2). This article will be used to illustrate that things have not changed with funereal practices despite the publication of Mitford's essay.

As a student of funeral service, Reverence for the Dead is extremely important. I found this book interesting and it made me think a lot more about ethical practices. Todd Van Beck has been a wonderful teacher, but my time being his student has made me come to realize that he’s also a very good person. Todd Van Beck talks about very serious topics in this book from death, to funerals, to caring for the dead in a correct manner. Van Beck gives us his beliefs on the subjects along with beliefs of many well-known psychologists. The passage about Dr. Edgar N. Jackson (1910-1994) had a strong impression on me. I joined this career path because I believe in the importance of preparation, preservation, and beautification of the dead also. Dr.

Criticisms of American funeral practices have been made publicly aware since the 1920’s, and actually go back to ancient times in the scope of human’s ceremonies for the dead. Since the first published argument against modern funerals various authors joined the movement publishing their disparagements of customs for the deceased; that in essence contend the grandiosity and lavish displays are merely a social and psychological representation of the monetary opportunity of funerals (DeSpelder & Strickland, 2015, p. 306-307). Even further, regarding the encompassing funeral industry as exploiting grieving loved ones for their financial gains, while disregarding the actual needs of modern society (DeSpelder & Strickland, 2015, p. 307).

This is not an attractive industry but it’s a needed industry. Death is inevitable and we all will need this service one day. However, because of the cremation and cheaper alternatives the operating margins are decreasing for funeral homes. People want to celebrate the lives of loved ones in a unique way and they don’t need to spend $10,000 to do

1. Watch “The Undertaking” where this video examines a family who works in the funeral industry as a window into American feelings on death and dying. Then, respond to the following questions: How do funeral rituals describe by the Lynch family show our cultural values about death and dying? How would a sociologist create a research question to systematically evaluate the claims that the Lynch family makes about death and dying? The funeral industry arguably exists to serve micro-level relationships, consoling individuals who have just lost others central to their social existence. How is the funeral industry connected to institutions at the community and

Sandy Hingston offers many intriguing views of a funeral service from the conventional method of a service in a church and the burial of the deceased to a service that more so relates to a party than a funeral. “The Death of the Funeral Business” also raises many questions to be pondered by the reader. Hingston says, “A societal changeover from burial to cremation is momentous for our culture. It signals a cataclysmic shift in how we think about our bodies and ourselves” (38). The questions that arise from this quote are what parallels may Hingston be trying to draw between the trend in cremation and the way we “think about our bodies and ourselves?” Why may she be trying to develop these connections? These are the questions I will be focusing on and how they relate to what I think the purpose of the article is. I believe the purpose of this article is to show how our generation is changing the way we view death and how the use of technology has greatly impacted the way funerals are done.

The funeral takes place in the cemetery grounds and stresses the merits of the deceased and a trust in God's justice. In the service it is affirmed that one day god will conquer death, " He maketh death to vanish in life external; and the lord God wipeth away tears from off all faces…" Isiah chapter 25 verse 8.

If you are responsible for planning your loved one's funeral, and you plan on having pallbearers, here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing pallbearers.

This concept also interferes with the usual funeral or memorial service because these events serve as a major point for bringing closure to the people who are coming to terms with the death of their loved one by allowing them to express their grief (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2011). As stated within Chapter 13, funerals “allow the family to demonstrate cohesion through sharing rituals, food, and drink” (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2011). If there is a drive-through, then families would not be able to share rituals which can help with the grieving process. Additionally, as mentioned within Chapter 13, most people think highly of funeral ceremonies as the ceremonies provide a meaningful way for survivors to handle the grief, and the ceremonies make the reality of

A funeral director is of best help to the relatives and friends of a deceased person, who assists in preparing the body, planning transport of the body to burial/cremation venue and in planning the ceremony. They must possess different positive traits like people management and administration skills, composure and willingness to work long, odd hours. He or she is also available on call 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.

The media frequently depicts funeral directors and fellow staff to be almost gothic like individuals with a morbid sense of humor. They appear on television to be a misunderstood part of our population that is not accepted by society. However, upon meeting Douglas Coward, our tour guide, I found the staff at Wilkerson’s to be empathetic, relatively normal and friendly in comparison to their portrayal through the media. This clarified that funeral home employees are like everyday people with family and friends. Through the tour I watched my preconceived notions change and by the end of the tour started viewing the funeral home profession as a compassionate field to be

Excellent posting in regards to the funeral industry and one that does not widely get much coverage due to the fact that most try to forget the grim reality. Although I could be wrong in my inclination, the book defines time period adjustment of elasticity as the fact that consumers would have the availability to find substitutes as time progresses for the products that they presently purchase (Thomas & Maurice, 2010). Although you mention the fact that traditional funeral cost is more elastic due to the substitute of cremation, it appears that the funeral industry may be one that the time period adjustment is not as much as a factor. The fact that there are legal laws and regulations around this industry evidences that the products offered

The imagery suggests that the mother, who is the carpenter, gives life to her child, the coffin. Ahab referred to the carpenter as “Prometheus,” a titan, a silkworm spinning its own shroud out of itself (Leiter 1958). This, I think is Melville’s way of connecting the coffin’s obvious meaning of death to life. The carpenter as Prometheus symbolizes God who gives birth or in other words life to death. The coffin then acts as a life buoy for Ishmael specifically, when it carries him over to safety at the end of the novel. Ishmael and the coffin, both tossed up by the Pequod—rigged out like a whale—also like Job by the Whale of God, become Prophets who deliver the message of God to the world (Leiter 1958). In a way then, the coffin also symbolizes the universe, man, his life, and his death. It is a symbol of the fate of man here on this earth.