Bereaved Etiquette for Day of Funeral

Good Etiquette Guide for the Surviving Family – Day of Visitation or Funeral

The following etiquette guide for the bereaved on the days of the visitation and service are listed in alphabetical order: Clothing/Dress You are not required to wear black to the funeral; however, showing respect and honor for your loved one’s memory does require wearing conservative clothing that reflects this sense of dignity and decorum. Bright colors and loud patterns may send the wrong message to your visitors and other mourners and family members.


Etiquette for the Surviving Family: Planning the Funeral

Arranging the Funeral Now that Your Loved One Has Died A funeral is a formal service of remembrance with the body present, in either a closed or open casket. Your funeral director or clergy can advise you on many aspects of etiquette relating to the actual funeral service. If your loved one hasn’t preplanned, you will need to make a number of decisions:



Atheist Funeral Service Rituals

Atheist funerals — usually quite similar to humanist funerals — are becoming more and more common. They are appropriate memorials to those who lived their lives without religious affiliation and reject the typically religious views associated with life and death.



Salvation Army Funeral Service Rituals

Members of the Salvation Army refer to death as a “promotion to glory” for fellow Christians. They believe that although the physical body dies, the spirit or soul of a Christian continues living in another dimension with God called heaven or “glory.” Because of these beliefs, Salvation Army funerals are characterized by sadness and grief but have underpinnings of hope and joy.


Moravian Funeral Service Rituals

Moravian funerals are similar to many other Christian traditions in that they are characterized by both grief and joy. Members of this faith grieve the loss of loved ones, but they believe that through salvation eternity is ever hopeful. Moravian believers are often heard saying that the deceased has “entered into the immediate presence of the Savior.” This is an indication of their belief that life and death are both blessings.


Reconstructionist Judaism Funeral Service Rituals

Like Reform Judaism, the Reconstructionist movement doesn’t believe in physical resurrection of the body. Instead, Reconstructionists believe that the soul returns to join the universe. Traditional Jewish burial laws forbid cremation.


Conservative Judaism Funeral Service Rituals

Conservative Jews, like others believe that funerals are a sacred rite deserving of dignity, and Jewish funeral traditions are marked by their simplicity. All people are deserving of dignity and respect, and the body retains its sanctity even after death. Conservative Judaism speaks about resurrection, but is not specific about the form it takes. It could be in a spiritual sense through remembrance by those still on earth, or in a physical sense following the appearance of the Messiah.


In the Media with Funeralwise.com

February 13, 2013 — Hollywood.com: Study: Women on TV Murdered More Violently Than Men, But Why? February 7, 2013 — Hollywood.com: Exclusive "The Walking Dead" Tops Deadliest Shows on TV Study"


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