Funeral Ceremony Fact Sheet Funeral Ceremony Fact Sheet Funeral rituals trace back to the beginning of human history. Like weddings or graduations, funerals provide meaningful ceremonies that bring together families and friends and encourage thoughts and feelings to be shared. Funerals offer an atmosphere in which the bereaved can mourn. Mourning is the outward, shared expression of grief. Grief is the internal thoughts and feelings of loss and pain.
Funerals offer a variety of meaning to individuals and provide closure to the bereaved.
Help the bereaved understand death is final and reinforce the fact that death is part of life. Help integrate the bereaved back into the community and make the transition of establishing a new life after the death of a loved one easier. Encourage the embracing and expressing of pain. Reaffirm one's relationship with the person who died. Offer a time to remember the person who died through the sharing of memories with others.