Funeral planning and the funeral industry are quickly changing. People are beginning to think differently about how they want themselves and their loved ones to celebrate the end of their lives. These changes have focused on less traditional services, being more eco friendly and removing the rigidity of more formal services. A traditional funeral service is held in a church and will be a formal event. These events will follow the typical notions one has of a funeral, including hymns, prayers, and a Funeral Order of Service given to the attendees.
Below is a list of all the top funeral trends and some information about them if you’re considering yours or a loved one’s memorial.
Setting
Traditionally, funerals have been held in churches, with a focus on hymns, prayers, and religious ceremonies. However, this has changed slightly, and people now opt for more personal funerals significant to the person who has passed. These funerals can be held anywhere that is happy to host them, such as a community centre, a crematorium, or even somewhere outdoors. These funerals are often led by the families and friends and are considered a more intimate way of saying goodbye.
Celebrating life
For some, a solemn funeral can be undesirable and instead they opt for something that focuses on celebrating the life of the person they have lost. Rather than focusing on the mourning of a loved one, it focuses on celebrating their life and the things they achieved and were passionate about. It’s a wholesome gathering for family and friends to perhaps abandon the traditional black attire and opt for something vibrant and celebratory. These funerals can take whatever shape desired and should reflect the life of the person who has passed rather than focusing on the loss.
Themed funerals
A growing number of people are opting for funeral services with a theme. This theme is typically something that represents their personality, or perhaps just something they enjoyed. Such as a holiday destination, a book or film they loved, or even an era. Examples of such funerals can be Elvis, 1970’s attire, or Disney characters.
Cremation
To keep funeral costs down, a lot of people have begun choosing direct cremations. This is due to lack of burial plots and the rise in prices for acquiring one. Now, a lot of people choose cremation for some other personal reasons. Some people find solace in the idea that they aren’t confined in one space forever, and instead can be scattered in multiple places, or even stay at home with their family in an urn or a piece of memorial jewellery.
Live streamed funerals
The pandemic and the effects of Covid-19 has seen huge changes in the funeral industry. A lot of people missed out on in-person attendance to funerals because of the pandemic and therefore had to find other ways of attending. As such, online streaming of funerals has risen as a way for those who cannot physically attend, to still be able to attend in some capacity.
Green funerals
Taking care of the environment has become increasingly important for some people and can be carried through into death. A rising number of people have decided to opt for green funerals (also known as natural burials). These burials use fewer harmful materials and waste less resources in the burial process. This means they may be buried in a coffin made of natural, biodegradable materials. Additionally, some people are opting for a natural burial where they return to the earth and continue the life cycle. In these burials, an individual is buried in a biodegradable pod and their body is used as the fertiliser for a tree to grow.
Active participation
Some families have expressed a desire to be involved in a loved one’s funeral, aside from planning and attending. Some may want to take part in the digging of the grave, others have been available to assist the funeral director with washing and dressing the body. Others have requested to witness the cremation or even be the one to push the button to begin the cremation. This approach focuses on honouring the person to the utmost and having the family at the centre of their goodbye, from start to finish.
Pre-planning
Younger generations have been dubbed the “death positive generation” due to their increasing interest in planning their own funerals and making them more individual. The millennial generation have begun trends in pre-planning their funeral and paying in advance. This minimises huge costs once they have passed, and unnecessary stress on the family members. You get to design your own service and have your goodbye exactly as you want it.
Other funeral trends have been focused on remembering the person in a less traditional way with some people opting to keep a piece of their loved one close to them. Technology has advanced to a point where we are able to turn our loved one’s remains into something special to ourselves.
Space burial
Some have described Celestis Memorial Spaceflight as a more meaningful way to connect with the universe. The service has been around since 1994 but has seen a lot of growth in recent years. The service launches cremated remains to near space, Earth-orbit and can be less expensive than traditional funeral services.
Memory glass
Memory glass is a solid orb around the size of a baseball, infused with the cremated remains of a loved one. Each orb uses only a small amount of ashes, meaning a lot of the family can have piece of memory glass. Memory glass can be spun into other shapes, such as into a necklace or bead on a bracelet etc. This gives you lots of ways to keep your loved one close.
Parting stones
A lab in Mexico has begun to transform the cremated remains of loved ones into smooth stones. These stones can be kept on your person or displayed and have a lot of sentimental value.
Funeral stationary online
Online planning and purchasing has also became a significant trend in funeral services. Ordering your funeral stationery and Funeral Order of Service online can make the whole ordeal a little bit easier. At Memorial Stationery, we offer bespoke and beautiful templates for Funeral Order of Service, funeral cards, and other funeral stationery.
Our website is designed to ease the burden of funeral planning and offer you bespoke designs on a range of products. Additionally, if you’d prefer something personal; you can create your own design for your order of service, funeral cards, and other stationery. With our services you can browse, upload, choose and purchase all your funeral stationery in just a few clicks.