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Where is an appropriate place to hold a funeral? Councils decide as mourners move away from tradition
The trend towards more personalized funeral services is creating headaches for local councils. In Australia, funerals recently have been held on football ovals, beaches, parks and near rivers as mourners move away from traditional services.
China cracks down on funeral strippers hired to entertain mourners, attract larger crowds
Chinese authorities are cracking down on the practice of hiring strippers as funeral entertainment, a technique some rural families use to increase the turnout at a loved one's final farewell.
What do funeral directors do?
As we get older, our attendance at funerals can sometimes feel a little too much like a regular occurrence. Thankfully, arranging a funeral is usually something we have less experience in.
A short history of funerals in Britain
The modern funeral is far different than that of ancient tradition. Many of the funeral rites practised by our ancestors have been lost in the mists of time, but occasionally we can catch a glimpse of how our modern funeral traditions developed.
First electricity powered crematorium to be built in Groningen
Funeral directors Dela are building a crematorium run on electricity instead of gas in Groningen, in a move to become more environmentally friendly, broadcaster NOS reported on Monday.
Ron Walker farewelled at state funeral attended by Jeff Kennett, Daniel Andrews
Former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett has described Ron Walker as "Victoria's ringmaster" as he farewelled the prominent businessman at a state funeral in Melbourne.
In death as in life: How culturally-tailored funerals are on the rise
Death, as part of life, is unavoidable. But it's a topic that most Chinese perceive as a taboo and will do their best to avoid. It seems that Tomb-Sweeping Day or Qingming Festival, which falls in early April, is the only time of year that Chinese people feel free to talk about death, funerals and burial.
The Cost Of Death: How Funeral Prices Vary Across Australia
Large fluctuations in the costs of funeral services across Australia have become the norm according to new research, leaving grieving families facing varying prices depending on how they choose to organise a procession, who they purchase it from and where they live.
Death and grief part of the job that can be really rewarding, say young embalmers
The young women in Australia's funeral industry say preparing people's loved ones for their final goodbyes is a more rewarding and gratifying job than people might expect.
These four women want to help plan your dream funeral
The four women of Going Out In Style want you to think differently about death. That is, what happens after your death – including what you’d like your funeral service to look like, smell like, taste like, and feel like for the guests.
A Tour of the World in Cremations and Cadavers
In her latest book, Caitlin Doughty, the self-proclaimed "funeral industry rabble-rouser," takes readers on a tour of the globe's most unusual death and grieving practices.
An Alternative to Burial and Cremation Gains Popularity
What do you want done with your body after you die?
Renewable rights: Report labels government plan for burial plots 'disrespectful'
The NSW government's solution to a looming shortfall of burial plots has been described as "disrespectful" by respondents to an internal government study.
The new death industry: funeral businesses that won’t exploit grief
From the ‘mushroom death suit’ to no funeral at all, entrepreneurs are transforming the burial sector.
Bizarre funeral rituals from around the world
We’re doing death all wrong, says mortician Caitlin Doughty. Doughty argues in her new book, “From Here to Eternity” (WW Norton), that the US funeral industry has become “more expensive, more corporate and more bureaucratic than any other funeral industry on earth.”
Architecture of the afterlife: This is how you design for the dead
Cematoriums, morgues, funeral homes. These buildings, all of which are involved in rituals around death, often look as mournful as they sound. Designed to be discreet, they are usually cold and depressing utilitarian concrete boxes, tucked far away from the land of the living.
Q&A: What are the origins of the ‘mutes’ that attended Victorian funerals?
When did they first appear and when did their attendance die out? The mute’s job was to stand vigil outside the door of the deceased, then accompany the coffin, wearing dark clothes, looking solemn and usually carrying a long stick (called a wand) covered in black crape.