I'm going to one today and tomorrow...around 5 hours each. How long is the talking...get together and lunch? Is it the service first, then pay your respects, then lunch or something like that...?

are you in a hurry?

muirdo said:

Don't try to make me feel bad....I just want to know. I'm not a bad or selfish person...I think.

they are all different. depends on if its a funeral, wake, wishes of the deceased expressed. generally you start with a service at the church, funeral home, temple or whatever. people speak about their relationship with the dead and how he/she impacted their life. there are scripture readings. the casket gets taken to the cemetery and lowered in the ground with a reading from the religious leader, sometimes people view that casket at the funeral home and have a meal service. i prefer the eating be done after the burial. never understood how people could eat in front of a dead body but oh well.

DesireeNevermind said:

thanks!

peacenlovealways said:

a funeral is a clever way of fooling people into thinking the person is only unavailable... not dead

cheers!
~svn seven

peacenlovealways said:

This might give you an idea of funeral protocol http://www.portsmouth.ang...l_service/

You could call the funeral home or the church, where the casket service is being held. The funeral home can explain it to you, whether it's a casket service or a cremation service.

Sometimes the church where the coffin is taken puts on a coffee and sandwich thing.

my uncle loved to go to funerals so he could visit during the funeral luncheon. i always thought it unfair that we had to put him out in the car after his own service. he should have been able to go to one more luncheon.

emm said:

If there was one for him then I'm sure he was there too

peacenlovealways said:

5 hours?

luv4u said:

Great Advice as each church and faith has their own procedures. Just a couple of sage advise: Please don't tell the family you know how they feel even if you have experienced simular loss, and don't say "Call me if there is anything you need or I can do anything for you" unless you really committed to be there. The time people need support is after the people leave.

mzsadii said:

Some churches offer grief therapy group counselling for those that are dealing with the loss of a loved one.

luv4u said:

you are sooo smug in giving right minded advice!

cheers!
~svn seven

They are not fast, they seem to linger, so if you are in a rush...you're gonna be late.

Each funeral is totally different and individual. It depends on the deceaseds' wishes and wants, from the service and sermon, their religion, the ceremony, how they want to go - burial or cremation - the party/wake/get together afterwards.. sometimes it can be small .. othertimes it can be fast.. but either time it can have many people or just a select few.. you can never say..

BlackAdder7 said:

Brown bag it? you mean like bring ?

PaisleyPark5083 said:

meow85 said:

if you go back to the family's house for refreshments etc, I'd imagine it would take a while

meow85 said:

I was there for 5 1/2 hours...it went fast.

the next one is from 11 to 6 or something.
[Edited 4/10/09 19:30pm]

I'm curious to know what happens after the funeral when the family and friends leave. Do they dump the body into the ground, and take the coffin, then resell it? I've heard some spooky stories, but is it fact or myth?

Cremation and a party is all I want to subject my loved ones to.

angel345 said:

they ARE supposed to bury the coffin with the body, but now you asked this, it makes me wonder too!

ZombieKitten said:

A family member told me this, so I don't know When my maternal grandmother passed in 2004, a few family members stuck around after we left the gravesite for the very reason I've mentioned.
[Edited 4/10/09 20:01pm]

johnart said:

For my family, doing that is a total break from tradition, but I told my children that I dont want them wasting the money I worked hard for to buy me a nicer box for the maggots to feast in. I also dont want to know that I'll be laying in full view of everyone with jacked up hair and makeup and a dress I wouldn't be caught "dead" in.....nobody ever looks right in a casket. I dont want them dayum family members I cannot stand touching my corpse and falling out as if we were close. Just put up some pics around me and talk to other people about how I changed your life, or what you loved about me. Thats how I want to be remembered....

StillGotIt said:

StillGotIt said:

I touched my grandfathers arm in his casket...not direct skin contact....that would be creepy...he looked fine....just a little creepy.

Um....LOL....typo alert.....I meant say just put up pics of me all around....I dont want a casket.

StillGotIt said:

It's funny how we react sometimes. I had them put the veil over my mother at the viewing because I didn't want anyone touching her body.

spell edit
[Edited 4/11/09 21:32pm]

angel345 said:

Get outta here...for real?

I did have one funeral director switch caskets on me though. I paid for a nice casket and at the wake he'd put my grandmother in a cloth covered pine box! I found out later that he did that to a bunch of people.

A couple of years later this same guy also showed up at a gravesite and threatened the family that he would stop the burial if they didn't pay him the balance due. They had to call the police on him.

Eventually they yanked his license.