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.

Which Religions Allow Cremation? A U.S.-Focused Guide to Faith-Based Beliefs and What to Do With the Ashes

Which Religions Allow Cremation? A U.S.-Focused Guide to Faith-Based Beliefs and What to Do With the Ashes

If you are trying to make end-of-life decisions while holding grief, it is completely normal to look for a steady answer to a question that feels both spiritual and practical:...

Is There “Energy” in Cremation Ashes? Beliefs, Etiquette, and Keeping Ashes at Home

Is There “Energy” in Cremation Ashes? Beliefs, Etiquette, and Keeping Ashes at Home

The first time cremated remains come home, many families feel two different realities at once. There’s the practical reality: a temporary container, a sealed bag, paperwork, and the sudden question...

Holy Cards and Prayer Cards: Meaning, History, and Modern Funeral Uses

Holy Cards and Prayer Cards: Meaning, History, and Modern Funeral Uses

At a wake, a visitation, or the quiet moment when guests begin to file out of a church, there is often a small, ordinary exchange that carries surprising weight. Someone...

What Does “Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust” Really Mean at a Funeral?

What Does “Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust” Really Mean at a Funeral?

There is a particular kind of quiet that falls over a graveside. Even if the day has been full of movement—cars arriving, greetings exchanged, tissues offered, people trying to say...

How to Pray at a Grave: Simple Approaches for Visits to Cemeteries and Memorial Gardens

How to Pray at a Grave: Simple Approaches for Visits to Cemeteries and Memorial Gardens

If you have ever stood at a headstone and felt the strange mix of love, numbness, and uncertainty, you are not alone. A cemetery can be quiet in a way...

Prayers for Grieving Pet Owners: Words for When You Don’t Know What to Say

Prayers for Grieving Pet Owners: Words for When You Don’t Know What to Say

Pet loss has a particular kind of silence. The house sounds different. The routines you didn’t realize you depended on—morning paws on the floor, a familiar meow at the door,...

Common Symbols on Headstones and What They Mean: Crosses, Flowers, Animals, and More

Common Symbols on Headstones and What They Mean: Crosses, Flowers, Animals, and More

Standing in front of a headstone for the first time can be surprisingly emotional, even if you have been “doing okay” day to day. A marker is small in the...

Where Do Dogs Go When They Die? Faith-Based Perspectives and Gentle Comfort for Dog Lovers

Where Do Dogs Go When They Die? Faith-Based Perspectives and Gentle Comfort for Dog Lovers

When a dog dies, grief rarely arrives as a neat, single emotion. It comes as a wave that hits at odd moments: when you reach for the leash out of...

Judaism and Cremation: Beliefs by Tradition and What Families Can Do

Judaism and Cremation: Beliefs by Tradition and What Families Can Do

When a family is facing loss, decisions can arrive faster than grief can catch up. Sometimes the questions come before the goodbye. Sometimes they come after—when a loved one has...

Do Cremation Ashes Attract Spirits or “Hold Energy”? Beliefs, Comfort Tips, and Faith-Based Guidance

Do Cremation Ashes Attract Spirits or “Hold Energy”? Beliefs, Comfort Tips, and Faith-Based Guidance

It’s a question people often whisper, sometimes even to themselves: do cremation ashes attract spirits, or do they hold energy in a way that changes the feeling of a home? The...

Which Religions Prefer Cremation? Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh Traditions and What Families Do With Ashes

Which Religions Prefer Cremation? Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh Traditions and What Families Do With Ashes

When a death happens, families often discover that the hardest decisions aren’t only practical. They’re emotional, and sometimes deeply spiritual. Even if your loved one wasn’t especially religious, faith traditions...

Cremation and Religion in the U.S.: What Major Faiths Allow and Common Rules for Ashes

Cremation and Religion in the U.S.: What Major Faiths Allow and Common Rules for Ashes

When a death happens, families often discover that the hardest questions aren’t only logistical. They’re spiritual. A relative may say, “Mom wanted cremation,” while another asks, “Is that allowed in...

Is Cremation Jewelry Okay for Christians? Faith, Respect, and Wearing Ashes Daily

Is Cremation Jewelry Okay for Christians? Faith, Respect, and Wearing Ashes Daily

It often starts with a simple, tender impulse: you want to keep someone close. Not in a vague, sentimental way, but in the most practical way possible—close enough that you...

Bible Verses About Animals That Bring Comfort After Pet Loss

Bible Verses About Animals That Bring Comfort After Pet Loss

There is a particular kind of quiet that follows pet loss. It shows up in the places your life used to move automatically: the food bowl you keep forgetting to...

Answering Children’s Questions About Where Pets Go When They Die

Answering Children’s Questions About Where Pets Go When They Die

There is a particular kind of silence that arrives after a pet dies. It is not only the quiet of an empty food bowl or the absence of paws on...

Working with a Pastor or Celebrant for a Scattering of Ashes Ceremony

Working with a Pastor or Celebrant for a Scattering of Ashes Ceremony

A scattering ceremony often starts with a simple wish: to say goodbye in a place that meant something. Then, almost immediately, families realize how many decisions are tucked inside that...