Reflections: The American Funeral explores mourning traditions, beginning with Native American traditions and ending with the diverse rituals practiced today.
Filed under: Death Care News, Traditions on August 6th, 2010 | No Comments »
To balance the “badness of death,” Kagan also provides several lectures on the “value of life.”
Filed under: Caregivers, Death & Dying, Deathcare Training, Grief and Grieving, Traditions on March 30th, 2010 | No Comments »
By the time of the Civil War, the theme of the Good Death inspired songs, stories and poetry for and about the Civil War.
Filed under: Death & Dying, Death Practices, Grief and Grieving, Traditions on December 2nd, 2009 | No Comments »
Perhaps by adding the Shanidar plants listed above to your next funeral arrangement, you can alter history – or, at least encourage debate among future scholars.
Filed under: Funeral Arrangements, Funeral Flowers, History of Funerals, Traditions on October 20th, 2009 | No Comments »
In the first blog entry about Bahamian burials, you may have learned that there was a distinction among social classes and between races in life as well as in death in the Bahamas. In the second article, you may have witnessed how both Europeans and Africans influenced each other in the types of memorials reserved for the dead and the designation of a burial as permanent or transient. This article, the last in the series, shows how class defined the Bahamian burial; however, cultural influences also shaped the Bahamian burial scene.
Filed under: About Tombstones, Cemeteries, Death Care News, Graveyard Etiquette, History of Funerals, Traditions on October 17th, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Bahamian vault graves on San Salvador Island
Are you appalled by the idea that a family or community might re-use grave sites as mentioned in the previous Bahamian burial article? Or, perhaps the condition of the Bahamian cemeteries and grave sites might disturb you. If so, pick up the book, In Small Things Forgotten, by James Deetz to learn more about earlier American burials.
Filed under: About Tombstones, Cemeteries, Death & Dying, History of Funerals, Traditions on October 17th, 2009 | 1 Comment »
…She began to tell me about how my great grandmother’s casket was draped with roses, and about the black lace dress that she wore to her grave.
Filed under: Death & Dying, Death Practices, Funeral Arrangements, History of Funerals, Plan Your Own, Traditions on October 10th, 2009 | No Comments »
Have you ever wondered what happens to your body after death, especially if you have not planned your funeral? The Guardian ran an article in the U.K. in 2008 entitled, “What Really Happens When You Die,” and this article provides death care workers’ perspectives on their jobs and what those jobs entail.
Filed under: Alternatives, Causes of Death, Cremation, Death & Dying, Death Practices, Traditions on October 4th, 2009 | No Comments »
Did you know that Americans of German descent outnumber those Americans of Irish and English descent? The first Germans to arrive in the New World were those who settled in Jamestown, Virginia in 1608. However, the most significant influx of Germans to American occurred during the nineteenth century, with settlements in New York and Pennsylvania.
Filed under: About Tombstones, Cemeteries, Death & Dying, Funeral Arrangements, History of Funerals, Traditions on September 13th, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Have you thought about how your body might be handled after you die? If so, you may have considered creating options for your burial now, even when young. But, the thought of walking into a funeral home to discuss those options might keep you from making those decisions.
Filed under: Alternatives, Cemeteries, Cremation, Death & Dying, Funeral Arrangements, Funeral Basics, Funeral Flowers, Funeral Songs, Plan Your Own, Traditions on September 3rd, 2009 | No Comments »