British popular funeral party I decide my funeral
4hw.com.cn: according to the statistics of a funeral organization in the UK, the practice of handling funeral affairs before death is becoming more and more popular in the UK. In some countries, such as South Korea and Japan, funerals for living people have been quietly popular. One advantage of this is that the central figure of the whole activity is still present and can hear the real evaluation of him by others. Holding funerals while alive not only challenges the traditional funeral culture, but also breaks the taboo topic of death.
'funeral party'
Michael herb broke up with his girlfriend who had been with him for many years shortly before his 40th birthday. He didn't want to celebrate his birthday alone, so he emailed 50 close relatives and friends and invited them to his birthday party. Among them, 40 people immediately replied that they were willing to attend the party.
Heb's friends discussed and decided to give him a 'funeral party', because they usually call Heb 'Mr. death'. At first, they just wanted to make fun of it, not seriously. But with the progress of funeral planning, it soon became serious.
On the day of the funeral, he Bu was dressed in white and lying in an uncovered coffin tailored for him. He will lie motionless in the coffin for three hours. Then, the coffin keeper lifted the coffin and put it in a dark room. There is only one candle in the room.
Heb later recalled that he could smell the strong smell of whisky in the coffin carrying population. Heb said he knew they drank to strengthen their courage, otherwise they would be afraid.
At the funeral, a female friend of Heb couldn't help crying when she saw Heb lying motionless in the coffin, although she knew it wasn't true.
Friends began to deliver eulogy. One of the friends said, 'I'm afraid you'll never know how much I love you'.
Herb's 15-year-old daughter was the last to deliver a eulogy. " She put her hand on me and delivered a moving eulogy. In the eulogy, she expressed her love for me and what I meant to her as a father. Everyone cried. "
Through this experience, herb had a new view on life. Now, he feels like he has a second chance. He knows how to improve his interpersonal relationships and fix some mistakes in the past 40 years. Through this experience, herb had a new view on life.
Listen to people's true feelings
According to the statistics of a funeral organization in Britain, this practice of handling funeral affairs before death is becoming more and more popular in Britain.
In some countries, such as South Korea and Japan, funerals for living people have been quietly popular. One advantage of this is that the central figure of the whole activity is still present and can hear the real evaluation of him by others.
A related survey in 2009 found that if you spend five minutes a day thinking about death for a week, you can reduce some depressive thoughts.
Williamson, from York, UK, has been engaged in funeral work for 30 years. Later this year, he plans to launch this form of funeral for living people.
Williamson said that based on his years of experience in funeral, he was often very impressed by what his relatives and friends said at the funeral.
Sometimes Williamson asks some visitors, 'would you say these words before the dead'? Usually they say, No.
So he thought, why not have a funeral before people die? Let them listen to people's true feelings.
Make death more real
Georgia, 28, is volunteering to help people hold 'living funerals'. The inspiration came from her own grandfather's funeral.
Georgia remembered that many people came to her grandfather's funeral, which made her very moved. She couldn't help thinking, if only grandpa could know that so many friends came to see him!
A year later, Georgia helped organize six such funerals. She believes that compared with the traditional funeral, this is more meaningful because the protagonist of the whole event can be present and experience the funeral.
In 2016, Tom's grandfather was seriously ill. The doctor said he had about a month left. Tom's grandfather boldly proposed to organize a celebration party before his death.
Tom, 24, participated in the organization of his grandfather's funeral. About 80 people came to the funeral. They also invited a photographer, set up a stage, and made some funny props.
Tom said it really takes courage to do so because you know you're going to die.
He said, 'it's a little incredible. Holding funerals for the living makes the fact of death more real. "
But it was his grandfather's wish. Moreover, Tom could see that his grandfather was very happy this day.
Keith CASS, a Welsh businessman diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006, has been working hard to popularize prostate cancer knowledge in Wales and England before his death in April this year. To this end, Prince Charles of Wales also awarded him the MBE.
At the end of last year, when Cass learned that he had only a few months to live, he had an idea. He decided to sell tickets to his funeral party and raise money for his charity. Cass hopes to hold a new and different 'best funeral'.
Cass finally didn't wait for his funeral. After his death, his children fulfilled his father's wishes. The funeral invited comedians and bands, and also provided a variety of hot and cold food and drinks: including beer, champagne, lobster, etc.
Cass had planned to raise 500000 pounds to let more British people know about prostate cancer and how to prevent and treat it.
Theater funeral experience
It seems that the British theatre and theatre industry have also complied with this trend, providing people with funeral experience and allowing participants to experience the feeling of attending their own funeral.
Martin, the theater director in charge of the funeral experience, said that in order to make the funeral experience more realistic, he and his colleagues built a cemetery, Chapel and morgue.
Each customer who wants to experience the funeral needs to sit down and discuss their funeral arrangements with the staff, including which hymns to choose to read at the funeral.
Then, the 'deceased' was sent to the morgue for cosmetic surgery and make-up The dead were put into the coffin, but a hole was left on the coffin so that they could see the funeral activities. Guests who come to the funeral will write down their eulogy and hang it on a memorial tree.
The whole process will last 25 minutes. Then, the coffin was buried and dropped to a grave 1.8 meters deep.
Martin said that sometimes this dramatic funeral experience will have very touching scenes that you will never forget. But not everyone likes to use the word 'funeral'. Some people prefer the word 'farewell party'.
Green, a hospice course lecturer at Manchester University in the UK, said that with the progress of society and the change of people's ideas, people have more and more diversified choices for future arrangements.
As for whether everyone is willing to attend his own funeral while alive, it is entirely up to him. But at least, it provides people with another choice.