The Funeral.com Journal

Resources to help you create tributes as unique as the people (and pets) you love. Learn how engraving, photos, colors, and symbols add meaning; discover scattering rituals and at-home memorial ideas. We focus on the details that matter—because small choices can carry a lifetime of comfort.

How to Arrange Urn Burial: Steps, Permits, Cemetery Policies, and Service Ideas - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Arrange Urn Burial: Steps, Permits, Cemetery Policies, and Service Ideas

If you are trying to figure out how to arrange urn burial, you may be carrying two very different kinds of pressure at once. One is emotional: you want the...

What Is a Burial Urn? Materials, Cemetery Rules, and How Urn Burial Work - Funeral.com, Inc.

What Is a Burial Urn? Materials, Cemetery Rules, and How Urn Burial Work

A burial urn is, in the simplest sense, an urn chosen with in-ground placement in mind. But that definition can be misleading, because the “right” burial urn depends less on...

The History of Memorial Candles: From Ancient Rituals to Yahrzeit and Modern Remembrance Traditions - Funeral.com, Inc.

The History of Memorial Candles: From Ancient Rituals to Yahrzeit and Modern Remembrance Traditions

There is a reason candlelight still shows up in the hardest rooms of our lives. A flame is small, but it changes the feeling of a space immediately. It softens...

Do You Need a Vault to Bury an Urn? Cemetery Rules, Protection Benefits, and Alternatives - Funeral.com, Inc.

Do You Need a Vault to Bury an Urn? Cemetery Rules, Protection Benefits, and Alternatives

If you’re asking do you need a vault to bury an urn, there’s usually a real-life moment behind the question: a cemetery staff member mentions an “urn vault” (or “outer...

Lighting a Candle for the Dead: Meaning, Traditions, and a Simple Remembrance Ritual at Home - Funeral.com, Inc.

Lighting a Candle for the Dead: Meaning, Traditions, and a Simple Remembrance Ritual at Home

When someone dies, the world doesn’t only change in the big ways. It changes in the small ones, too. The chair stays empty. The phone stays quiet. A song comes...

Why Is Black the Color of Mourning? History, Symbolism, and Modern Funeral Etiquette - Funeral.com, Inc.

Why Is Black the Color of Mourning? History, Symbolism, and Modern Funeral Etiquette

There’s a moment many people recognize: you’re standing in front of your closet, invited to a service for someone you cared about (or someone you respected), and you reach for...

U.S. Funeral Traditions Explained: Common Customs, Etiquette, and How Funerals Evolved - Funeral.com, Inc.

U.S. Funeral Traditions Explained: Common Customs, Etiquette, and How Funerals Evolved

Most people don’t set out to learn u.s. funeral traditions until they’re staring at a service time and trying to remember what happens next. American funerals can feel familiar and confusing...

What Is an Urn Burial? Inurnment Basics, Cemetery Rules, and What to Expect - Funeral.com, Inc.

What Is an Urn Burial? Inurnment Basics, Cemetery Rules, and What to Expect

If you’ve heard the phrase urn burial and felt unsure what it actually means, you’re in good company. Families often learn the vocabulary of loss in real time, while they...

Famous Mothers and Their Memorials: 15 Iconic Moms and How They’re Remembered - Funeral.com, Inc.

Famous Mothers and Their Memorials: 15 Iconic Moms and How They’re Remembered

When people talk about famous mothers memorials, they’re usually reaching for something deeper than celebrity. They’re trying to understand how love lasts. A mother’s impact can be public or private,...

A Brief History of Ceramics: From Ancient Pottery to Modern Ceramic Memorial Urns - Funeral.com, Inc.

A Brief History of Ceramics: From Ancient Pottery to Modern Ceramic Memorial Urns

A ceramic vessel is one of the oldest human ideas take earth, add water, shape it with your hands, and use heat to turn something fragile into something that can...

Iconic Moms and Matriarchs: From Mother Teresa to Celebrity Mothers—Stories, Tributes, and Legacy Ideas - Funeral.com, Inc.

Iconic Moms and Matriarchs: From Mother Teresa to Celebrity Mothers—Stories, Tributes, and Legacy Ideas

When a family loses a mother, grandmother, or “everyone calls her Mom” figure, the grief can feel both intimate and enormous. You are not only missing a person—you are noticing...

Funerary Art 101 — Symbols, Styles, and How Urns Became Memorial Objects - Funeral.com, Inc.

Funerary Art 101 — Symbols, Styles, and How Urns Became Memorial Objects

Walk through an older cemetery—especially one with nineteenth-century sections—and you’ll start to notice a quiet visual language. An angel leans forward as if listening. A dove rests in stone, wings...

Famous Mothers in History and Pop Culture: Iconic Moms, Their Legacies, and Ways to Remember Your Own - Funeral.com, Inc.

Famous Mothers in History and Pop Culture: Iconic Moms, Their Legacies, and Ways to Remember Your Own

There is a reason mother stories stick. Even when you do not share the same background, era, or circumstance, you can still recognize the invisible work: the steady presence, the...

American Flag History and Meaning: Stars, Stripes, Colors, and Flag Etiquette - Funeral.com, Inc.

American Flag History and Meaning: Stars, Stripes, Colors, and Flag Etiquette

The American flag is more than a piece of fabric; it’s a living symbol of our nation’s identity, values, and history. Imagine a quiet morning at a cemetery: a veteran’s...

A Simple Guide to Coffins: Types, Materials, and Traditions - Funeral.com, Inc.

A Simple Guide to Coffins: Types, Materials, and Traditions

Choosing a coffin or cremation urn is one of the most meaningful decisions families make when honoring a loved one. Burial practices have evolved over centuries, influenced by cultural customs,...

A Short History of When Coffins Started Being Used in Burials - Funeral.com, Inc.

A Short History of When Coffins Started Being Used in Burials

Burial practices have evolved over thousands of years, shaped by culture, religion, and advances in craftsmanship. Among the most significant developments in funerary practices was the introduction of coffins. Far...