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.

Balinese Cremation Ceremony: Ngaben Rituals, Meaning, and What Guests Should Expect

Balinese Cremation Ceremony: Ngaben Rituals, Meaning, and What Guests Should Expect

You might hear a wave of gamelan music before you see anything at all—bright cymbals, deep drums, the kind of rhythm that makes your feet want to move even when...

Buying Cemetery Property Now vs Later: Costs, Availability, and Resale Rules for Plots

Buying Cemetery Property Now vs Later: Costs, Availability, and Resale Rules for Plots

If you’ve found yourself wondering whether to buy cemetery plot now or later, you’re not being “morbid.” You’re trying to protect your future self—and the people you love—from rushed decisions,...

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...

Japanese Buddhist Funerals: What Happens, Why They’re Common, and Key Rituals Explained

Japanese Buddhist Funerals: What Happens, Why They’re Common, and Key Rituals Explained

Many families first learn about a japanese buddhist funeral in a moment of hurry and heartbreak: a phone call, a flight, a message from a relative saying the wake is...

Cremation With a Viewing: How Visitation Works (With or Without Embalming)

Cremation With a Viewing: How Visitation Works (With or Without Embalming)

In the first hours after a death, families often feel pulled in two directions at once. One part of you wants the simplest path forward. Another part of you wants...

Body Donation to Science: Eligibility, What Happens, and How to Communicate Your Wishes

Body Donation to Science: Eligibility, What Happens, and How to Communicate Your Wishes

The call usually comes at the worst possible time—when a family is still trying to understand what just happened. A nurse, a hospice coordinator, or a loved one at home...

Qingming Festival Explained: Chinese Tomb-Sweeping Day, Ancestor Visits, and Offerings - Funeral.com, Inc.

Qingming Festival Explained: Chinese Tomb-Sweeping Day, Ancestor Visits, and Offerings

In many families, grief doesn’t arrive only once. It returns in seasons—when the air shifts, when a familiar date approaches, when a child asks a question you didn’t expect, when...

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,...

Scottish Funerals and Bagpipes: Why They’re Used and What the Tradition Represents - Funeral.com, Inc.

Scottish Funerals and Bagpipes: Why They’re Used and What the Tradition Represents

The first time many people hear bagpipes in a funeral setting, it catches them off guard—not because the sound feels unfamiliar, but because it feels instantly human. A lone piper...

Mormon Funeral Traditions: What to Expect at a Latter-day Saint Service (and What Not to Send) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Mormon Funeral Traditions: What to Expect at a Latter-day Saint Service (and What Not to Send)

You pull into the church parking lot and pause for a second before you open the door. Maybe you’re coming to support a friend. Maybe you’re family and you’re running...

Catholic Funeral Mass Explained: Rosary, Vigil, Funeral Liturgy, and Graveside Customs - Funeral.com, Inc.

Catholic Funeral Mass Explained: Rosary, Vigil, Funeral Liturgy, and Graveside Customs

Most families don’t arrive at a Catholic funeral already fluent in the rhythm of the prayers. They arrive tired, tender, and trying to do right by someone they love. If...

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...

First-Time Pallbearer Guide: Quick Tips to Honor the Role (and Stay Safe) - Funeral.com, Inc.

First-Time Pallbearer Guide: Quick Tips to Honor the Role (and Stay Safe)

The request can land in your lap at the exact wrong moment: a text from a family member, a quiet call from a friend, a funeral director asking for names....

Living Funeral Explained: How to Plan a Celebration of Life Before Death - Funeral.com, Inc.

Living Funeral Explained: How to Plan a Celebration of Life Before Death

There are moments in serious illness and advanced age when time feels both precious and strangely unreal. Conversations get postponed because everyone is trying to stay hopeful, and yet the...

Pre-Planning Your Funeral Online: Tools, Services, and What to Compare Before You Commit - Funeral.com, Inc.

Pre-Planning Your Funeral Online: Tools, Services, and What to Compare Before You Commit

It often starts quietly. A late-night search. A tab left open after reading a friend’s post about their parent’s funeral. A moment when you realize that if something happened tomorrow,...

Planning Multi-Location Memorials: Coordinating Tributes in Different Cities at the Same Time - Funeral.com, Inc.

Planning Multi-Location Memorials: Coordinating Tributes in Different Cities at the Same Time

When a family is spread across cities, a single gathering can feel like an impossible compromise. Someone is recovering from surgery. Someone can’t afford a last-minute flight. Someone is stationed...