Monthly Archives: March 2023

cremation services in Penn Township, PA

Common American Cremation Traditions

Historians believe funeral and cremation traditions date as far back as 60,000 BC, but our modern traditions are very different from the ones back then. How have our traditions changed, and what are the most common traditions around death and cremation services in Penn Township, PA?

Here are the most common modern funeral and cremation traditions in America:

  1. Funerals – A traditional funeral usually consists of a viewing or visitation followed by a funeral service that includes readings, prayers, and eulogies and is concluded with the body being buried or entombed. What Americans think most of when they think of funerals is the general somber feeling combined with black attire, religious moments, and burial at a cemetery. However, these days, funerals and other services like memorials can be almost anything.
  2. Viewings and Visitations – A visitation is when the family of the bereaved makes themselves available for other family, friends, coworkers, and anyone who’d like to come so these people can express their condolences for the passing. Similarly, a viewing is when the bereaved can gather to view the body and express condolences. Viewings are often held at the funeral home, but can also be held in other locations.
  3. Reception – Funeral services are traditionally followed by a reception or wake at which the bereaved can receive support and comfort from the funeral attendees. Receptions, help the bereaved’s community get together and honor the family. These gatherings can be held almost anywhere, from banquet halls and restaurants to churches, homes, or even parks. The bereaved generally invite all the funeral attendees, but some open it up to the general public or keep it more intimate with only close family and friends.
  4. Burial – A burial is a form of final disposition in which a body is buried in a hole in thecremation services in Penn Township, PA ground. Also known as internment, burial is one of the longest-standing death traditions in the United States. Burial first became popular as a way to keep animals away from a body and to protect the living from the smell of the decaying body. However, it quickly transformed into a way to show respect for the dead and a way for the bereaved to be able to visit the deceased to continue to pay their respects. Interestingly, the “six feet deep” rule is just a myth. There is no nationwide law regarding grave depth, as necessary depth depends on soil type, method of burial, and other factors. The most common depth requirement is 36 inches.

This is far from a comprehensive list of American funeral traditions. Others include pallbearers, open caskets, embalming, sending flowers, funeral processions, wearing black, and more. You are allowed to choose all, some, or none of these traditions to celebrate the life of your lost loved one. We are here to help if you want to learn more about traditions surrounding the death of Penn Township, PA cremation services. Call or visit us today for more information on our services or how we can help in your time of loss or preplanning.

funeral home in Penn Township, PA

What Should You Wear to a Funeral Home?

Funeral, memorial, and other service attire can be a minefield of differing traditions and opinions, often leaving guests completely unsure of what to wear. You’re not alone if you’re wondering what to wear to a funeral at a funeral home in Penn Township, PA.

However, you don’t have to be unsure anymore. Use this ultimate guide to funeral attire as inspiration for your funeral or memorial outfits. When dressing for a funeral or memorial, you should be aware of some common attire guidelines. For instance, avoid revealing pieces. Shirts and dresses should always cover up to the neck and pants and dresses should go down to the knees.

Many traditions also require shoulders and knees covered as well as headwear such as hats for men and headscarves for women. As for footwear, avoid athletic shoes like sneakers as well as casual shoes like flip-flops. More casual services may allow t-shirts and other informal wear, but always avoid loud prints or big logos and keep a formal jacket on hand just in case. A general rule of thumb is to dress as you would for a job interview or a church service: conservative, clean, and put-together. The traditional colors worn to funerals are an important aspect of funeral attire.

Though not every service calls for dark hues, you will almost always blend in and be appropriately dressed if you stick to the tradition of wearing a black, dark grey, or deep blue. Brown shades, lighter grays, and other earthy colors are acceptable for most funeral services. Be sure to avoid bright colors including yellow, red, pink, orange, and white. You can wear white if it’s part of an accessory or worn underneath dark colors, like a white shirt with a dark jacket.

It’s important to note that different kinds of services have different attire requirements. Forfuneral home in Penn Township, PA example, wakes, viewings, or visitations are muted, somber events and therefore require muted, somber clothing. Expectations for attire can range from highly formal to dressy-casual, so be sure to check the invitation or dress according to what you know about the family. Similarly, it’s important to dress respectfully and conservatively at a funeral to honor the deceased and the bereaved. Stick to tradition, avoid bright colors, and, when in doubt, dress like you would for a job interview. Memorials are more informal events than funerals, but they still require somewhat subdued formal clothing. When in doubt, err on the side of more formal and more traditional with dark colors and conservative cuts. Celebrations of life are unique services in that they are more casual and upbeat. As such, they have fewer expectations and requirements for dress. Celebrations of life can range from lighthearted memorials to parties with dancing, so be sure to check the invitation for guidance on attire. However, it’s safe to assume that a smart-but-casual outfit will be acceptable.

We are here to help if you want more guidance on Penn Township, PA funeral homes, or what to wear to death-related events. Please call or visit us today.

cremation services in North Versailles, PA

What Can We Learn from Other Countries’ Death Traditions?

Our traditions for death, funerals, and cremation services in North Versailles, PA are not the same as those from around the world, but that doesn’t make these other traditions bad or wrong, just different.

In fact, there’s a lot we can learn from these other traditions! What do you think we can learn from them? How can they inspire you as you preplan for your passing or deal with the loss of a loved one?

Here are some customs around death and loss that are different from ours, but no less meaningful or beautiful. In India, most people believe in rebirth until eventual removal from rebirth into nirvana. To help the deceased escape rebirth and enter nirvana, the bereaved scatter the deceased’s ashes in a holy place, such as Varanasi.

In Germany, cemeteries are almost exclusively operated by churches and the state, which means there aren’t that many available for burial at any given time. That’s why most cemetery plots are rented for twenty to thirty years. At the end of the rental term, the plot is used for another body. In the Philippines, the Tinguian people dress their dead in the finest possible clothes and then sit them up in chairs with lit cigarettes for weeks at a time. In Jewish culture, the dead are not left alone between the time of death and the burial. The Chevra Kadisha is a group of people, usually amassed from the local communities and synagogues, who wash and shroud the bodies and then sit with them until burial. Traditionally, women will sit with deceased women and men with men.cremation services in North Versailles, PA

In Kiribati, an island in the Pacific, the local tribes display the cleaned and polished skulls of their loved ones in their homes, but only after the bodies are left out in the house for up to 12 days, buried, and then dug up again for skull removal. Iranian people believe that dead bodies defile everything they touch, including the ground and fire. That’s why some sects raise bodies into the sky on towers for the vultures to pick clean. The believers clean bodies with bull urine and cut off the clothing with tools, and then place them on the Towers of Silence. In aboriginal Australia, the indigenous people believe the spirit of a recently deceased person will go back to the land before it can be reborn into a new human body. After somebody dies, the community holds a smoking ceremony at the deceased’s home in which the attendees use smoke to drive the spirit from the body so it can begin its next journey. Afterward, the body is placed on a platform, covered with leaves, and left to return to the earth in its own time.

These are just a few of the many unique death traditions and rituals people practice around the world. We are here to help if you want to learn more about our rituals and traditions at North Versailles, PA cremation services. Call or visit us today for more information.

funeral home in North Versailles, PA

What is a Crypt?

Maybe you’ve heard about crypts before or seen them in a scary TV show or mummy movie. But what is a crypt? Do people still use crypts for after-funeral home services in North Versailles, PA? Are there different kinds of crypts? What do they look like?

Crypts aren’t as dark or scary as they seem in the movies. Instead, they are simple, meaningful places to house loved ones who have passed on and have had a service at a funeral home. Per Merriam-Webster, a crypt is, “a chamber (such as a vault) wholly or partly underground, a vault under a main floor of a church, or a chamber in a mausoleum.” Simply put, a crypt is a vault or small space used to house dead bodies, generally on the floor of a church or underground in some capacity.

It’s important to note that crypts and mausoleums are not the same things. Mausoleums are the building that house crypts above ground, while crypts are the small rooms that house caskets. In other words, a mausoleum holds the crypt, and the crypt holds the casket or the body. Interestingly, there are different kinds of crypts, including mausoleum crypts and lawn crypts. While “crypt” refers to chambers underneath churches, it also refers to the chamber inside a mausoleum where the body is stored. Another word for the chamber where the body is stored inside a mausoleum is “mausoleum crypt.” A lawn crypt is an underground or partially underground mausoleum that contains more than one casket, such as several members of one family side by side or above and below.funeral home in North Versailles, PA

It’s also important to note that some cemeteries use the term “lawn crypt” to refer to above-ground structures that hold one or more caskets. There are many other different types of crypts. Some of the most common are single crypts that house just one casket, companion for two caskets, and family or Westminster crypts that have enough room for an entire family. Most crypts are dark, dry, and somewhat cold. Single crypts are generally small rectangles just big enough for a casket, while Westminster crypts can be quite large as they need to hold multiple caskets. Usually, one end of the crypt is open to place the casket inside. Modern crypts also often have drains, pipes, and ventilation to prevent bad smells from building up inside the mausoleum.

The world’s first known crypts were used in Italy, Greece, and South Africa to house the bodies of saints, priests, martyrs, and other ancient Christians deemed worthy of entombment within a church as well as religious relics. Perhaps the most famous crypt is the one in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. Built-in the 4th century, the crypt in St. Peter’s Basilica is believed to house the remains of Saint Peter underneath the floor of the high altar.

Do you want to learn more about crypts or North Versailles, PA funeral homes? Call or visit us today for more information.