Different funerals and rituals from across the globe

Credit: Derek Bridges

Not one funeral is ever quite the same as the other, and especially if you dig deeper into different religions and cultures, it can make a massive impact on the way a funeral is run.

Here in the UK, a service usually consists of a 30 minute service in the crematorium, followed by a wake where family and friends catch up and eat some food.

Kyle Tevlin, founder of Iwantafunfuneral.com, spoke about the way the majority of Americans do their funerals. “Even just 10 years ago it was a day or two at a funeral home with a viewing and some kind of church service and then the cemetery. Now it’s usually just a couple of hours at a funeral home and not an open casket anymore.”

Increasingly, it can appear that we are shortening funerals in modern day culture.

This is definitely the case with Jewish funerals, as the body has to be buried within 24 hours if possible. To symbolise the grievance process men will usually tear their white shirt and have a black ribbon placed on their jacket. Their coffins are always biodegradable to help the body get as one with nature quicker.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is Sweden. When it comes to burial, they’re in no rush. In fact, Sweden have the longest wait between death and burial - an average of 20 days as of 2016.

The Cajun culture, in New Orleans and Louisiana, blends the gravity of the European funeral with the more celebratory African tradition, by having a jazz band play slow dirges marching to the funeral. Then it changes to happier and upbeat music once the funeral is over and the life is celebrated.

Maybe the UK could take a leaf out of their book.

You can learn more about grief and mourning in the March issue of UNHEARD Magazine.