Since the earliest of times, most people have held funeral ceremonies. The dead have ritually been interred in pyramids, cremated on burning pyres, and sunk beneath the oceans' waves. Even today, funeral practices and rites vary greatly among various cultures and religions. Funeral directors are also called morticians or undertakers . Although this career does not appeal to everyone, the men and women who work as funeral directors take great pride in their ability to provide efficient and appropriate services that give comfort to their customers.
Directors arrange the details and handle the logistics of funerals.
They prepare obituary notices and have them placed in newspapers, arrange for the religious ceremonies, schedule with the cemetery the opening and closing of a grave or the crematorium the burning of the pyre, decorate and prepare the sites of all services, and provide for the transportation of the remains, mourners, and flowers between sites. Funeral directors often work long, irregular hours. Funeral directors occasionally come into contact with the remains of persons who had contagious diseases, but the possibility of infection is remote if strict health regulations are followed. Important personal traits for funeral directors are composure, tact, and the ability to communicate easily with the public. They also should have the desire and ability to comfort people in their time of sorrow.