Holt Funeral HomeFuneral Service & Cemetery in Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Did you know that licensing requirements for funeral directors differ in each state? However, most require a combination of post-secondary education (usually an associate's degree), passing a national board exam, passing a state board exam, and one to two years' work as an apprentice.
One part of some funeral traditions is a visitation, or viewing (also called a wake). Here, the embalmed body of the deceased is placed on display in its coffin, where friends and relations can come to pay their respects.
Cremation is the process of reducing dead bodies to chemical compounds in the form of gases, ash, and bone fragments. This is accomplished through burning the body after death and is often an alternative to traditional burial.
Burial practices: The ancient Greeks would bury their dead in a sitting position inside clay pots. In 19th century United States (and elsewhere) the dead were carried out of the house feet first. This was to prevent the spirit of the deceased from looking back into the house and bringing another person along.
The marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert is one of the great royal love stories: Before her death, Queen Victoria insisted on being buried in her beloved husband's bathrobe holding a plaster cast of his hand in hers.
The funeral of Alexander the Great is acknowledged to be the most expensive one ever held. To perform a similar ceremony by today's standard would cost more than $250 million. Much of the funeral cost was tied up in building a road from Babylon to Alexandria big enough to handle a hearse so large it needed to be pulled by 64 horses.
The idea of a funeral parlor originates from a time when funerals were held at home and the deceased's coffin (casket) was kept in the room or parlor used for special occasions. The term transferred to funeral homes as they became the norm.
Releasing the ashes of a loved one at sea is one way to show respect, but 21st century technology is making futuristic memorial options available to a few intrepid mourners. Some people have cremains chemically processed into diamonds, while others have arranged for portions of cremains to be transported into space.
One traditional funeral flower is the lily, particularly the longiflorum lily, which comes in white only, with a flower head in a trumpet shape. Carnations are also often used, as they offer great visual appeal.
The oldest cemetery in continuous use is the Mount of Olives in Israel, and the oldest registered cemetery in the United States is the Grove Street cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut. The largest cemetery in the United States is Forest Lawn in Glendale, California.