Advice, guides & articles

Even if you know almost nothing about funerals, there’s one thing that everyone will be aware of: in the western world you have to wear black. But have you ever stopped and wondered why that is? In this blog I will explain why it is custom to wear black clothing if you attend a funeral.

There are many ways you can fundraise in memory of a loved one. It is best to speak to family and friends about this to share ideas and see what would be best. However, if you are struggling to think of ideas we have some suggestions for you. Firstly, you’ll need to think about what you’d like to fundraise for. Visit our blog on ‘Which Charity Should I Choose to do a Collection For?’ for ideas on how to pick. After you’ve chosen how you’d like to raise money in memory of your loved one, the best way is to make it as easy as possible for people to donate. At funeral-notices.co.uk you can now make cashless donations through our site which can be shared across all social media platforms. Visit here to learn more about how to do this. Another way to raise money in memory of your loved one is to state it in the death notice. For example “No family flowers please, donations if desired to X Y Z.” You could also have collection envelopes at the funeral so you can receive cash donations.

There are a lot of extra things to think about while we go through these strange and uncertain times, and funerals are no exception. We have previously written a blog on ‘How many people are allowed at a funeral’, but do you know what you’re allowed to say in the funeral notice that goes in the newspaper and online?

As of 1st October 2020, over 1,000,000 people worldwide have died due to COVID-19, better known as the Coronavirus. This includes 42,143 in the United Kingdom. In this blog, I will go into further detail about the fatalities caused by the disease, focusing especially on the UK. The first case of COVID-19 in China was reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) in December 2019. On 13th January 2020, a case of COVID-19 in Thailand was confirmed, the first recorded case outside of the origin country. And on 31st January 2020 – despite it later being assumed that there had been unidentified cases earlier in the country – the first COVID-19 cases in the UK were confirmed in York.

There may be some confusion as to how many people are allowed at a funeral following the latest Government rules. Nobody should meet socially in groups of more than six from Monday 14th September until further notice. However, funerals are exempt from this as long as they are COVID secure.

September is self-care awareness month, and in these challenging times, it is relevant to us all - and especially pertinent to those who are dealing with a bereavement. As a professional funeral celebrant, and formerly a psychology lecturer and life coach, I’m interested in how to blend these approaches to the experience of mourning. To help you (or a friend or family member) do a daily ‘check in’ on your own wellbeing, here’s a little tool-kit I created that spells out the word ‘self-care’.

There are many different options available when you are planning a funeral. You can go the traditional route, or something a bit different. Largely it will depend on your personal preferences, and the preferences of the person who has passed away.

Sometimes it’s hard to find the words to say when a loved one has passed away. But when it comes to the funeral, those closest to the deceased will often make a reading or recite a poem in their memory. But what should you say? In this blog I will do my best to help you answer this difficult question.

Planning what to wear at a funeral can be tricky for some, especially if you’ve never been to a funeral before. No need to worry, most people will have something suitable to wear lurking in their wardrobe. Here’s a guide for men and women on how to dress for the occasion.

Put simply, a live stream is a live transmission of an event over the internet. Video cameras are set up at the location where the event is taking place, and the footage is broadcast in real time over the internet for people to watch along at home. This ‘real time’ aspect allows people to still feel a part of the event as it happens, rather than just watching a video back at a later date or being told about it. This live stream can be made publicly accessible to everyone, or it can be kept more private and require a password or a link to access it. Often the footage is recorded as well so that it can be watched back at a later date if someone cannot be available to watch it live.