Critical Elements of Multicultural Funerals
Today, funeral homes are offering services to a wide variety of clients from different walks of life. Cultural or traditional funerals are currently common as funeral homes work to attract clients from different cultural backgrounds. That said, cultures honour the departed differently, and this is something every funeral director must understand. Thus, if you want your services to appeal to a broader market and different cultures, you must familiarise yourself with funeral etiquette in particular cultures. This article highlights some of the most common etiquette elements of multicultural funerals.
Funeral Flowers
Flowers are a staple in funerals across different cultures, and they have varying connotations. Therefore, it is critical to provide the right flowers for a client's funeral service. In some cases, the flowers that a client wants could be out of stock and a funeral director might decide to get a different species with a similar appearance. However, such decisions can get you in trouble because you might end up offering a flower type that disrespects the deceased or the bereaved family. For instance, in Chinese culture, you should only put red flowers on the casket of an elderly loved one. Similarly, the mourning flowers for a bereaved family depends on their relationship with the deceased. Therefore, always provide the right bloom to avoid complications.
Burning Incense
The burning of incense is another common element of cultural funerals. A grieving family burns incense during a funeral to prepare the deceased for the afterlife in most cultures. For example, some Asian communities burn incense in the form of paper objects, such as houses and cars, so that the departed loved one can have a comfortable afterlife. However, incense material varies from one culture to the other. Therefore, funeral homes must avoid burning the wrong incense at a cultural funeral service.
Gifting Mourning Families
Most people familiar with modern funerals understand that sending a condolence card to a bereaved family is the standard response to loss. However, cultural funerals follow a tradition of giving gifts to a grieving family. While it may be strange, sending gifts a grieving family is also considered a show of sympathy. For instance, Hindus consider a fruit basket an appropriate gift to a bereaved family. In Jewish culture, flowers do not make the best gifts, but charity donations do. Some people can forget to get a gift for the family, which is where funeral directors come in. They can stock different gifts in a funeral home's convenience shop so that friends and relatives have an easy time purchasing what they need on-site.
To learn more about funerals in different cultures, such as Asian funerals, contact a funeral home today.