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.

Koliva (Kollyva): The Orthodox Wheat Memorial Food and What It Symbolizes - Funeral.com, Inc.

Koliva (Kollyva): The Orthodox Wheat Memorial Food and What It Symbolizes

In the days after a death, families often move through two worlds at once. One world is made of paperwork, phone calls, and decisions that arrive faster than grief can...

The Kiss of Peace in Orthodox Funerals: Meaning, Practice, and Guest Etiquette - Funeral.com, Inc.

The Kiss of Peace in Orthodox Funerals: Meaning, Practice, and Guest Etiquette

The first time you attend an Orthodox funeral, the room can feel both unfamiliar and deeply human. The candles, the chanting, the steady rhythm of prayers—everything seems to say that...

Novenas for the Dead: Nine Days of Prayer, Meaning, and How Families Observe Them - Funeral.com, Inc.

Novenas for the Dead: Nine Days of Prayer, Meaning, and How Families Observe Them

In the first days after a death, time does a strange thing. Hours stretch, phone calls blur, and the house can feel both crowded and unbearably quiet at once. Many...

Cremation Laws in Colorado (2026): Waiting Periods, Permits, Cremation Authorization & Next-of-Kin Order - Funeral.com, Inc.

Cremation Laws in Colorado (2026): Waiting Periods, Permits, Cremation Authorization & Next-of-Kin Order

If you are arranging a cremation in Colorado, it can feel like you are being asked to do two different things at once: grieve, and manage a process that is...

Cremation Laws in Delaware (2026): Waiting Periods, Permits, Cremation Authorization & Next-of-Kin Order - Funeral.com, Inc.

Cremation Laws in Delaware (2026): Waiting Periods, Permits, Cremation Authorization & Next-of-Kin Order

When a death happens, the paperwork can feel cold next to the reality of grief. But in Delaware, the rules around cremation exist for a reason: to make sure the...

Cremation Laws in Connecticut (2026): Waiting Periods, Permits, Cremation Authorization & Next-of-Kin Order - Funeral.com, Inc.

Cremation Laws in Connecticut (2026): Waiting Periods, Permits, Cremation Authorization & Next-of-Kin Order

When a death happens, families are often trying to do two hard things at once: grieve and make decisions that cannot be undone. In Connecticut, cremation is a common choice,...

Cremation Laws in Illinois (2026): Waiting Periods, Permits, Cremation Authorization & Next-of-Kin Order - Funeral.com, Inc.

Cremation Laws in Illinois (2026): Waiting Periods, Permits, Cremation Authorization & Next-of-Kin Order

When you are grieving, the words “legal requirement” can feel cold. But in real life, understanding cremation laws Illinois is often what makes the next few days calmer. Families usually...

Cremation Laws in District of Columbia (2026): Waiting Periods, Permits, Cremation Authorization & Next-of-Kin Order - Funeral.com, Inc.

Cremation Laws in District of Columbia (2026): Waiting Periods, Permits, Cremation Authorization & Next-of-Kin Order

When a death happens in Washington, DC, families often describe the first few days as a blur of phone calls and paperwork. And then, right in the middle of grief,...

Cremation Laws in Florida (2026): Waiting Periods, Permits, Cremation Authorization & Next-of-Kin Order - Funeral.com, Inc.

Cremation Laws in Florida (2026): Waiting Periods, Permits, Cremation Authorization & Next-of-Kin Order

If you are dealing with a death in Florida, the paperwork can feel oddly fast and painfully slow at the same time. A funeral home may ask about cremation within...

Cremation Laws in Alabama (2026): Waiting Periods, Permits, Cremation Authorization & Next-of-Kin Order - Funeral.com, Inc.

Cremation Laws in Alabama (2026): Waiting Periods, Permits, Cremation Authorization & Next-of-Kin Order

If you are arranging a cremation in Alabama, you usually have two parallel experiences at once. One is deeply human: grief, decisions, and the feeling that time is moving too...

Paddle Out Ceremonies: Hawaiian Surfer Memorials and How to Plan One Respectfully - Funeral.com, Inc.

Paddle Out Ceremonies: Hawaiian Surfer Memorials and How to Plan One Respectfully

There are some goodbyes that don’t belong in a room. For surfers and ocean people, grief often has a tide to it—quiet at first, then sudden, then steady again. A...

Bardo Thodol (The Tibetan Book of the Dead): What It Is—and What People Often Misunderstand - Funeral.com, Inc.

Bardo Thodol (The Tibetan Book of the Dead): What It Is—and What People Often Misunderstand

There are moments in grief when time feels strange—when the world keeps moving, yet your inner life slows to a careful, listening pace. In those moments, families often reach for...

Panikhida Explained: The Eastern Orthodox Memorial Service and When It’s Held - Funeral.com, Inc.

Panikhida Explained: The Eastern Orthodox Memorial Service and When It’s Held

In the first days after a death, time can feel strange. There is paperwork, phone calls, and a swirl of well-meaning advice, but there is also a quieter need that...

Grave Maintenance in Green Cemeteries: Native Plantings vs Manicured Lawns (Pros and Cons) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Grave Maintenance in Green Cemeteries: Native Plantings vs Manicured Lawns (Pros and Cons)

Most families picture a cemetery before they ever tour one. In our minds, it often looks like a quiet park: trimmed grass, predictable rows, a familiar kind of order. Then...

Vegan Funeral Catering: Menu Ideas, Cultural Etiquette, and How to Offer Inclusive Food - Funeral.com, Inc.

Vegan Funeral Catering: Menu Ideas, Cultural Etiquette, and How to Offer Inclusive Food

After a death, people often remember the smallest things with surprising clarity. The way someone greeted them at the door. The warmth of a hand on their shoulder. The quiet...

Carpooling to a Funeral: A Simple Plan to Reduce Procession Emissions (and Make It Easier for Guests) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Carpooling to a Funeral: A Simple Plan to Reduce Procession Emissions (and Make It Easier for Guests)

On the day of a funeral, most families are already carrying more than they expected. Even when everything is “handled,” the reality is that guests still have to arrive, park,...