No matter if it's a sudden death or an expected death, death is one of the most difficult (if not the most
difficult) time in our lives. Even if we know that we're all going to die at some point, we’re never ready
to deal with the death of our loved ones.

Funeral services are challenging, but you should know that the funeral rituals (services included) also
have therapeutic values.

What are the rituals?

Rituals are symbolic activities that let people that care for each other express their emotions and
thoughts about someone’s big life event. For example, baptism celebrates the birth of a child and the
family church welcoming him.

We all celebrate our birthday, as it's a reason to be happy about adding another year to our lives. And
when we found the perfect partner, we want the whole to know, which is why we have a wedding.

Funeral rituals are also a way of showing our thoughts, appreciation, and respect about the person who
recently died. They are rich in history and abound in symbolism.

The funeral ceremony (no matter the final form) help us deal with the reality of death, honor the
deceased, and show our support for the mourners. It also eases out our efforts of accepting death,
according to our beliefs about life and death, appreciating life even more.

Unfortunately, society has nourished a mourning-avoiding culture, which doesn’t benefit us at all.
Having a funeral ritual and ceremony has many benefits, and we should never undermine its value.

How can a funeral service help us deal with mourning?

There are six needs of mourning, and the funeral service and ritual benefit each of them. Keep reading
for the details:

  • Acknowledging the reality of death



When someone we care for dies, it's essential that we recognize the finality of the end so that we move
forward. In the first phase, we find out about the death of the person and understand the reality (on an
intellectual level). As days and weeks go by, we start to comprehend what that death means for us and
our life.

A funeral service is a starting process for understanding. The preparations related to the funeral
ceremony (from calling a funeral home, to choosing a casket or selecting the jewelry of the deceased)
help us understand the finality of death.

  • Dealing with the pain caused by the loss



Once you get from the "head understanding" to "heart understanding", you move slowly toward
embracing the pain of the loss. It’s very important for the healing process. Healthy grief is when you
express your thoughts and emotions, with funeral ceremonies providing the appropriate means.

With funerals forcing up to concentrate on death and feelings, it's only natural that we cry, sob and wail
at the funeral. It's challenging for people to take distance from the pain of grief and not to cry. Funerals
give us the right venue for expressing our sorrow. They may be the only place when society accepts the
open expression of our regrets.

  • Honoring the deceased



As we try to deal with grief, we need to go from a physical relation with the dead to an imaginary one. A
funeral service eases out the process since it gives us the time and place to remember the times with
the deceased (good or bad). When you have a traditional funeral, the eulogy may put an accent on the
most critical moments in the dead's life. Many mourners share their memories about the person that
died, which also brings value to the process. We get with terms of grief when we talk a lot about the
emotions and the death per se.

Sharing memories is valuable, and we may also find out new things about the deceased. It's what helps
us treasure and appreciate life even more.

  • Creating a new self-identity



We don't necessarily think of it, but we play many roles in our lives. One is a sun, a husband, a cousin, a
best friend, and uncle and so on at the same time. When someone in our life dies, our self-identity
changes as well.

A funeral service makes the process more comfortable since it offers the social venue for
comprehending and accepting in public the new roles. A parent that loses his child becomes an adult
that used to be a parent in a natural way. The parent will always cherish and have a relationship through
memory, though. Anyone taking part at the funeral ceremony validates the change and accepts the new
you, which helps you get through the pain. When the funeral service doesn’t take place, the social group
may have no idea about how to deal with the new identity, abandoning the grieving person.

When you get support from friends and family, you know that you didn't disappear, even a part of you
did die.

  • Is there a meaning in death?



It’s natural for people to wonder about life and death when someone in their life dies. Why did he die?
Why did he die like this? What happens now? Why do I feel the pain? When you’re dealing with grief,
you also need to answer these questions so that we can move forward.

It's not about finding the right answer; it's instead about the way we're processing our feelings. At the
end of the day, a funeral service is going to reinforce the cruel reality: we're all going to die eventually.
Dying is natural and impossible to avoid the process. A funeral service helps us get a better
understanding of life and death, impacting our way of life too. It may sound cruel, but every funeral
gives us a glimpse of how our funerals are going to be.

The funeral is meaningful because death is fundamental too. It may be the most efficient way to value
life a lot more.

  • Receiving support from people close to us



Funerals are a public method of showing the feelings and thoughts about the death of someone in our
life. They’re a public venue for providing support for mourners in the toughest time of their life.
"Come support me"; is the message that funeral communicates to the griever. It may sound harsh, but
one that doesn't want a funeral service may also say, "Don't come to support me".

Funeral services are the natural way to express our support, with modern society valuing (unfortunately)
less and less supportive expressions of grief. A funeral isn’t the place where words can work their magic,
but embracing, crying, and people being together can help a lot more.

One conclusion to highlight

Sadly, people drift afar from traditional funeral services. We know that funerals are expensive, but they
do good and bring good to people who lost the deceased. They're the ultimate way of expressing our
feelings about the dead, if not the most efficient method to make our final goodbyes.