You wish to respect and remember the distinctive life of the person who has passed away by paying tribute to their memory and burying them in a dignified manner. You now consider how best to remember your loved one while deciding between a celebration of life and a funeral service.
There are many aspects that both celebrations of life and funerals have in common. These occasions provide opportunities for a community of people, who have experienced a similar loss to unite, support one another, and pay tribute to the deceased. How would you know which option is best for you and your family? Let us first learn the difference between a celebration of life and a funeral.
Funeral Service
An individual’s experience, relationship to the departed, and cultural or religious background all play a distinct role in what transpires at a funeral. You probably think of a funeral when you envision a solemn and traditional event for your departed loved one. This service involves burial or cremation rites.
Funeral houses came to light when settlements expanded and burials were developed to conveniently assist the family. The funeral we would most readily recognize in modern times consists of 3 fundamental events:
- The Visitation or Viewing
This is typically held before the burial and entails approaching the casket to pay their last respects, either alone or with a member of the bereaved family. - The Main Service
This ceremony has a set order of rites that usually includes hymn singing, reading of religious passages, and prayers led by the officiant, who is typically a religious leader or funeral director. - The Committal Service
This service is initiated by a solemn car procession to the burial grounds. When the casket-enclosed remains are buried and the last prayers are said, the committal service comes to an end.
Planning a funeral service comes with its complexities too. The bereaved family must help each other in these trying times. Someone must cater to the needs of the guests like contacting catering or event photographers from Hamilton to make sure the guests have proper food and a photographer to document the event.
Someone must also make sure that the ceremony is done in proper order. For convenience, you can rely on the funeral director to take charge of some of the arrangements.
Celebration of Life
A celebration of life is about sharing and honouring your loved one’s life story, as opposed to a funeral, which is often more concerned with the ritual. This is characterized by being a less structured occasion that may differ greatly on a case-to-case basis.
In essence, this is sort of a memorial celebration that integrates solemn and informal activities. The organizer decides how the integration will be implemented. Although there is more potential for creativity, the main objective is to celebrate the character and memory of your loved one.
There is significantly more time to prepare celebrations of life because they are frequently held after the person’s remains have been buried or cremated. This gives you more time to decide how you want to honour the life of someone you cherished.
A celebration of life plays a pivotal role in the expression of love and respect of peers and relatives for their beloved. Therefore, many families reach out to celebration of life organizers so that their customized wishes will be fulfilled without a hitch. Fortunately, several organizers are now offering a celebration of life service in Toronto that is easy to reach out to.
Key Differences
Focus, solemnity, and tone serve as the 3 defining characteristics that separate funerals from celebrations of life. However, there are also other key differences you should take note of.
- Focus
Celebrations of life focus more on being personal, while funeral services place a greater emphasis on the deceased’s religion or cultural identification. - Solemnity
Celebrations of life are considerably cheery and less formal than funeral services. Generally speaking, funeral wear is more formal, whereas celebration of life apparel is more casual. - Tone
Funerals typically place a strong emphasis on supporting mourners and acknowledging their grief. Celebrations of life offer that as well, but they accomplish this by emphasizing the core moments of your loved one’s life and having a more joyful tone or atmosphere.
There are other distinguishing factors like:
- Location
The family frequently makes a choice about where to hold the funeral service. The location of the service could be a church or a funeral home. On the other hand, no regulation specifies a place to hold a celebration of life. This could take place anywhere. - The Deceased’s Body
Another notable difference is the presence of the body in a funeral service and the lack thereof in a celebration of life. - Origin and Background
The celebration of life is a product of recent shifts in societal standards, while the funeral service is more established in tradition.
Whether you choose a funeral or a celebration of life, you are paying tribute to and remembering your departed loved one. By knowing the key differences, you’ll have a better understanding of what service you would like to pick for your loved one. You can even have both the service and the celebration later if you want to.
