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.

Buddhist Mourning Rituals: How Tibetan, Thai, and Japanese Traditions Honor the Dead - Funeral.com, Inc.

Buddhist Mourning Rituals: How Tibetan, Thai, and Japanese Traditions Honor the Dead

In many Buddhist families, the first days after a death feel both structured and unreal. Someone calls the temple. Someone finds a photo for the altar. A quiet room becomes...

Afterlife Beliefs Around the World: How Faith and Culture Shape Funeral Rituals - Funeral.com, Inc.

Afterlife Beliefs Around the World: How Faith and Culture Shape Funeral Rituals

After a death, families often find themselves making decisions that feel both deeply emotional and surprisingly practical. Do we hold a service right away or later? Do we bury, cremate,...

Attending a Funeral at a Mosque: Janazah Etiquette for Non-Muslim Guests - Funeral.com, Inc.

Attending a Funeral at a Mosque: Janazah Etiquette for Non-Muslim Guests

You don’t have to be Muslim to be invited to a Muslim funeral. You just have to be someone who mattered to the person who died, or someone who matters...

Mourning Colors Around the World: Why We Wear Black (and What Other Cultures Wear) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Mourning Colors Around the World: Why We Wear Black (and What Other Cultures Wear)

If you have ever stood in front of your closet the night before a service and thought, “I should know this, but I don’t,” you are not alone. Most families...

Bird Symbolism Across Cultures: Myths, Superstitions, and Spiritual Meanings - Funeral.com, Inc.

Bird Symbolism Across Cultures: Myths, Superstitions, and Spiritual Meanings

When someone you love dies, the world has a way of feeling both too quiet and too loud at the same time. Ordinary things—light through a window, a familiar song,...

Mourning Colors Around the World: Meanings of Black, White, Purple, and More - Funeral.com, Inc.

Mourning Colors Around the World: Meanings of Black, White, Purple, and More

If you have ever stood in front of a closet the night before a service and thought, “What is the respectful thing to wear?” you are not alone. Clothing is...

Feng Shui for Keeping Ashes at Home: Placement Tips, Do’s & Don’ts - Funeral.com, Inc.

Feng Shui for Keeping Ashes at Home: Placement Tips, Do’s & Don’ts

When a loved one’s ashes come home, the question usually isn’t only “Where do we put the urn?” It’s also, quietly, “How do we live with this in a way...

Tulip Symbolism: Meaning of Tulip Flowers and What Different Colors Represent - Funeral.com, Inc.

Tulip Symbolism: Meaning of Tulip Flowers and What Different Colors Represent

When someone is grieving, flowers can feel like the safest language. You do not have to find the perfect words, you do not have to explain yourself, and you do...

Symbols of Life and Death: Meanings of the Ankh, Ouroboros, Birds, and Rebirth Flowers - Funeral.com, Inc.

Symbols of Life and Death: Meanings of the Ankh, Ouroboros, Birds, and Rebirth Flowers

There are moments in life when language feels too small. A death can do that—especially when the relationship was central, complicated, unfinished, or simply beloved. Even when you know what...

Gray Color Meaning: Symbolism, Psychology, and How Gray Feels in Everyday Life - Funeral.com, Inc.

Gray Color Meaning: Symbolism, Psychology, and How Gray Feels in Everyday Life

When you’re living through loss, your brain often looks for anything that feels steady. Sometimes that steadiness shows up in surprising places: a quiet routine, a familiar chair, a favorite...

Blue Color Meaning & Symbolism: Psychology, Navy Blue, and Emotional Associations - Funeral.com, Inc.

Blue Color Meaning & Symbolism: Psychology, Navy Blue, and Emotional Associations

There are moments in grief when words feel too sharp. Families will tell us, quietly, that they are “fine” while their eyes say something else. And then, almost unexpectedly, the...

Bird Meanings Across Cultures: Hope, Fortune, Faith Symbols, and Folklore - Funeral.com, Inc.

Bird Meanings Across Cultures: Hope, Fortune, Faith Symbols, and Folklore

When you are grieving, the world has a way of feeling louder and quieter at the same time. The everyday sounds continue—traffic, a neighbor’s dog, the hum of a refrigerator—and...

Tulip Symbolism Guide: Cultural Meanings, Gift Etiquette, and Seasonal Tips - Funeral.com, Inc.

Tulip Symbolism Guide: Cultural Meanings, Gift Etiquette, and Seasonal Tips

When someone is grieving, the “right” words can feel impossible to find. Flowers can be a gentler language—one that doesn’t require perfect phrasing, but still communicates, “I’m here.” Tulips are...

Colors of Mourning Worldwide: Why Purple and Black Are Common Funeral Colors - Funeral.com, Inc.

Colors of Mourning Worldwide: Why Purple and Black Are Common Funeral Colors

After someone dies, you can handle the calls, the paperwork, the logistics—and still freeze over something that sounds small on paper: what color to wear, what flowers to send, what...

What Does the Color Blue Mean in Art? Symbolism, Mood, and Famous Uses - Funeral.com, Inc.

What Does the Color Blue Mean in Art? Symbolism, Mood, and Famous Uses

Blue is one of those colors that feels like it already has a story before you say a word. A soft sky blue can make a room breathe. A deep...

Colors of Mourning Around the World: Why Some Cultures Wear White, Black, or Red - Funeral.com, Inc.

Colors of Mourning Around the World: Why Some Cultures Wear White, Black, or Red

Most of us learn funeral etiquette the same way we learn most hard things: suddenly, and under pressure. A death happens. Plans move quickly. You want to show up for...