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.

Faith and Grief: When Belief Comforts (and When It Becomes a Struggle) Description:

Faith and Grief: When Belief Comforts (and When It Becomes a Struggle) Description:

In the first hours after a death, faith can feel like a handrail. Sometimes it’s a familiar prayer spoken without thinking, or a hymn that rises in your chest before...

Zoroastrian Sky Burials: Towers of Silence, Excarnation, and the Beliefs Behind the Practice

Zoroastrian Sky Burials: Towers of Silence, Excarnation, and the Beliefs Behind the Practice

In the days after a death, families often discover something they didn’t expect: the hardest part isn’t always the paperwork or the logistics. It’s the quiet moment when you realize...

Viking Funerals: Myths vs. Reality of Norse Farewells (Ships, Fire, and What’s Actually Known) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Viking Funerals: Myths vs. Reality of Norse Farewells (Ships, Fire, and What’s Actually Known)

The scene is familiar: a lone figure stands at the shoreline, a bow drawn tight, and a flaming arrow arcs into the twilight. The ship catches, the sea swallows it,...

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,...

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,...

Dove Symbolism in Grief and Faith: Peace, Hope, and the Spirit - Funeral.com, Inc.

Dove Symbolism in Grief and Faith: Peace, Hope, and the Spirit

When someone you love dies, it’s common to reach for a symbol that can hold what words can’t. Sometimes it’s a song. Sometimes it’s a flower. And sometimes it’s a...

What Does It Mean When a Bird Flies Into Your House? Folklore, Spiritual Views & Safety Tips - Funeral.com, Inc.

What Does It Mean When a Bird Flies Into Your House? Folklore, Spiritual Views & Safety Tips

It usually happens in a moment that already feels loaded. You’re making coffee. You’re standing at the sink. You’ve been thinking about someone you miss, or you’ve been trying to...

Bird Spiritual Meanings: 7 Common Birds and What They Symbolize - Funeral.com, Inc.

Bird Spiritual Meanings: 7 Common Birds and What They Symbolize

When someone you love dies, the world keeps moving, but your attention changes. A bird on a fence, a shadow crossing the driveway, a call outside the window—suddenly it feels...

Bird Symbolism in Grief: Spiritual Meanings and Why Birds Feel Like “Signs” - Funeral.com, Inc.

Bird Symbolism in Grief: Spiritual Meanings and Why Birds Feel Like “Signs”

In the days after a loss, the world can feel both too loud and strangely quiet. You might be trying to keep up with phone calls, paperwork, meals you don’t...

Bird Superstitions Explained: Common Beliefs, What They Mean, and Where They Come From - Funeral.com, Inc.

Bird Superstitions Explained: Common Beliefs, What They Mean, and Where They Come From

When you’re grieving, the world can feel louder and quieter at the same time. Everyday noises fade, but small details stand out—an unexpected song on the radio, a dream that...

What Does the Color Blue Symbolize? Meaning in Art, Faith, and Memorial Design - Funeral.com, Inc.

What Does the Color Blue Symbolize? Meaning in Art, Faith, and Memorial Design

There are moments in grief when words feel too sharp, too small, or simply unavailable. That is one reason families lean on color. A single hue can communicate tenderness, steadiness,...

Seeing Blue Light or Blue Reflections: Optical Causes vs Spiritual Meaning - Funeral.com, Inc.

Seeing Blue Light or Blue Reflections: Optical Causes vs Spiritual Meaning

If you’ve been noticing blue glints, blue reflections, or a faint “blue light” that seems to show up at the edges of your vision, you’re not alone. People describe it...

Seudat Havra’ah Explained: The Jewish Meal of Consolation After Burial - Funeral.com, Inc.

Seudat Havra’ah Explained: The Jewish Meal of Consolation After Burial

You may remember the walk back into the house more than the drive to the cemetery. The quiet. The way ordinary rooms suddenly feel unfamiliar. In Jewish mourning, that return...

Irish Wake Drinking Etiquette: What’s Normal, What to Avoid, and How to Be Respectful - Funeral.com, Inc.

Irish Wake Drinking Etiquette: What’s Normal, What to Avoid, and How to Be Respectful

The first time you walk into an Irish wake, you may feel two emotions at once: grief for the family, and uncertainty about what’s expected of you. You might hear...

The “Algorithmic Afterlife”: Managing Memory Notifications, Anniversary Reminders, and Grief Triggers Online - Funeral.com, Inc.

The “Algorithmic Afterlife”: Managing Memory Notifications, Anniversary Reminders, and Grief Triggers Online

Grief has always had anniversaries. A birthday that lands differently. A holiday you didn’t realize was “the first” until you’re already in it. A song on the radio that hits...

Psychopomp Guide: Azrael—The Angel of Death in Islamic Tradition (Roles and Respectful Context) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Psychopomp Guide: Azrael—The Angel of Death in Islamic Tradition (Roles and Respectful Context)

When a family is grieving, it’s common to reach for language that makes the unknown feel a little more navigable. Sometimes that language comes from religion; sometimes it comes from...