Navigating the Farewell: Discover the Different Types of Memorial Services Available and Which Is Right for Your Loved One
With many kinds of memorial services available before or after interment, whether for burial or cremation, knowing which one is the right fit to honour your loved one can be overwhelming.
End-of-life arrangements can be customized based on the person’s cultural, religious, and personal preferences. We’ve compiled an extensive list that covers each type of service available so you can feel comfortable knowing that you’ve made the right choice.
Traditional Funeral Service
Also known as a full-service funeral, a traditional funeral typically includes a visitation or viewing, a secular ceremony or religious service, an interment of the casket or urn in a final resting place on cemetery grounds, and sometimes a reception. Since planning this kind of service involves a variety of elements, it tends to be a larger investment.
A traditional funeral service might involve religious or cultural rituals that can occur at the funeral home, a place of worship, or another desired event space. Readings, music, prayers, eulogies, and religious rites can be performed during the service. How the ceremony is performed and what’s included is completely up to the family's wishes.
If there’s an open-casket visitation or ceremony, the body is often embalmed to preserve a more natural appearance, but it’s optional in Canada.
There can be an additional ceremony, known as a graveside or committal service (which you can read more about in the section below, Graveside Service). Caskets may be interred in a burial plot or crypt. Urns can be interred below ground or in a niche in a columbarium.
Some families may wish to end the proceedings with a reception at the funeral home, a restaurant, or even a family home. This can be formal or more casual, depending on preference.
Celebration of Life
A celebration of life “celebrates” a person's story and personality in a meaningful way.
Apart from its more modern and potentially cheerful tone, celebrations of life differ from a traditional funeral service in that they may take place away from a funeral home, and typically the body isn’t present. In the case of cremation, an urn with the cremated remains may or may not be present.
The timing for celebrations of life is also more flexible, either before the final disposition of the body or cremated remains or after, even months later. This gives friends and family more time to travel and can also give more space for creativity since you can plan the service whenever you’re ready.
While it’s more of a celebration, there’s still the opportunity to create a safe space to grieve over the loss. Celebrations of life open the door for honouring the person’s legacy in a unique and memorable way.
Graveside Service
A graveside service, also known as a committal service, is a ceremony that takes place before the interment of a casket or urn at the cemetery. Depending on the site, this final farewell may take place indoors or outdoors.
A graveside service can be celebrated by a secular or religious officiant. This can include music, readings, prayers, and eulogies.
In the case of a casket or urn burial, before the remains are interred, it’s common for people to throw flowers or dirt over them in a symbolic gesture.
Direct Cremation
Direct cremation is a simple and cost-effective option where the cremation happens shortly after death, without a formal visitation or funeral service. For families still wishing to host an alternate event, celebrations of life can be a good match with direct cremation, providing the option to bring a group of people together to honour the person’s life in any location and in a personalized way. It can be planned for around the same time as the cremation or even months later–in fact, the actual planning itself can begin after time has passed since the cremation, providing flexibility.
Most direct cremation service providers will offer a viewing option for the immediate family before the cremation. While embalming and selecting a casket may still be available depending on the provider, they are not required for direct cremation.
Direct cremation is a simple and dignified service we proudly offer at Simple Choice Cremation.
Green Burial
Green burials are quickly becoming a popular choice for environmentally-conscious families. Also known as natural burial, green burial has five main components: no embalming, direct earth burial, ecological restoration and conservation, communal memorialization, and optimized land use.
With a green burial, the body is wrapped in a biodegradable shroud and can be buried with or without an eco-friendly container or casket. Once buried, the area surrounding the plot is restored with grasses, wildflowers, and other local plants on protected ground. A small monument or community marker is placed and can be handcrafted for a unique and personal touch.
Donation to Science
Before death, an individual can donate their body to medical schools or research institutions for scientific study and education.
In Ontario, you can consent to donating your body to science in one of three ways:
- In writing, under Section 4(1) of the Gift of Life Act
- Verbally, with a minimum of two witnesses present
- By filling out a Donation of Body to School of Anatomy consent form
Knowing if the person wishes to donate their body to science is crucial information to have in advance as it will affect the preparation of the body. For example, A School of Anatomy may refuse to accept the body if it has been embalmed if any amputation has occurred if there was an autopsy if the person carried an infectious disease, or if they don’t require bodies at the time.
Afterward, the remains can be cremated, interred at the school, or returned to the family. A celebration of life may also be conducted at this time.
Home Funeral
For cultural and personal reasons, some families choose to provide funeral services on their own. In Ontario, it’s legal to care for a person’s body without a licensed funeral provider under the condition that no one is being paid to perform these services and that the body doesn’t undergo arterial embalming.
Providing a funeral or wake at home is a touching way to honour your loved one in the privacy and comfort of a personal space. The service can be performed however you’d like and may be celebrated with food and drinks, prayers, music, readings, and eulogies.
Scattering of Cremated Remains
Scattering a person’s remains after cremation can be a heartfelt way to say farewell. This ceremony could take place alone, with close family and friends, or as part of a religious ceremony.
Families may scatter cremated remains on private property (with permission of the owner), in unoccupied waterways managed by the government, or on unoccupied Crown land. Consider scattering the remains in a meaningful location, such as their favourite beach, family cottage, or somewhere like a designated scattering area at a cemetery.
A scattering ceremony can be as structured or straightforward as you’d like. You might consider allowing everyone to say a few words about the person, sing songs, or recite prayers.
Online Memorial
When family and friends live far away, a simple and affordable way to include everyone is through an online memorial. You can choose to have a virtual service, a memorial page that people visit on their own time, or a combination of both. Many websites offer free and paid services, so you can find options that allow you to personalize it as you’d like.
For a live virtual service, family and friends gather via video call, and there may be adapted aspects of a traditional funeral service, such as an officiant, a photo slideshow, prayers, music, eulogies, and religious or cultural customs.
Memorial pages can be made public or private, and you can choose how long you’d like them to be live. Most online memorial providers offer features such as photo slideshows, videos, a space to share stories and quotes, and a timeline to fill in significant life events. These pages often offer custom templates and personalizations like virtual candles and flowers.
Viking or Viking-style Funeral
Contrary to Hollywood re-imaginings, a traditional Viking funeral typically didn't include the body going out to sea on a burning ship. Historically speaking, most Viking funerals were performed through cremation or burial. Today, with Vikings featuring heavily in pop culture, funerals inspired by their rituals are increasingly popular.
The smoke of a Viking cremation symbolizes the path to guide the person into the afterlife. These traditionally would take place on a funeral pyre, which is illegal in Ontario due to environmental, health and safety concerns.
For higher-ranking Vikings, burial in a longship was traditional because ships symbolized a safe way into the afterlife. The person would be buried in new clothing and “grave goods” such as tributes and jewellery.
Having a Viking-style funeral today is still possible with a bit of creativity. For example, the ceremony can include Nordic music and Viking chants. While burial in a boat-style casket may be an option at some cemeteries, it still needs to fit in the burial plot. The person can be buried in new clothes and mementos you’d like to include. If the person chooses cremation, you can find longship replica urns.
For a Hollywood-style Viking send-off, it isn’t very easy. Under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) must approve burials at sea. If no marine pollution is created from the burial, they may be granted permission. This can be a costly and time-consuming process.
Military Funeral
Veterans may be entitled to a military funeral, depending on their rank and wishes. Under the Canadian Armed Forces, two types of funerals are available: military funerals with honours and military presence burials.
Military funerals with honours are available for all Canadian Armed Forces members who have served. Military presence burials occur at the National Military Cemetery, which may have a bugler, a seven-man escort, a piper, or a chaplain.
Religious or Cultural Funeral:
Many religions and cultures have their own funerary customs and rituals that are honoured here in Ontario. We’ve highlighted a few to provide a brief overview of what they typically include.
Buddhism
Buddhist funeral rituals vary across regions and denominations. For many, cremation is preferred as the physical body doesn’t hold much significance. Funerals are typically held in a monastery or at the family home and led by a monk. Chants, sermons, and sutras (Buddhist funeral prayers) are led. The family will typically wear white, while other mourners should be dressed in dark or black clothing.
Christianity
Traditions vary between denominations. Most denominations today allow both burial and cremation, depending on the family’s wishes. While some Protestant denominations allow a flexible structure for the service, Orthodox Divine Liturgies and Roman Catholic Masses generally don’t include eulogies, but they may be included in a reception afterward. Mourners are often dressed in black, and a pastor or priest typically leads the service.
Islam
Cremation is not permitted, so the body is interred in a casket. Burials, when possible, happen within 24 hours of the death. The person is wrapped in a shroud and buried positioned toward Mecca. The service happens at a mosque and is led by an imam. Typically, the service includes readings from the Quran and funeral prayers.
Judaism
While Orthodox Judaism prohibits cremation, it’s an option for those who practice Reformed Judaism. Embalming is not permitted, and the body is typically buried in a simple shroud. The funeral service takes place at either a synagogue, funeral home or graveside, with a rabbi to preside over the ceremony. The service typically includes prayers, a eulogy, and the body present. Mourners often wear modest clothing, with the men expected to wear a yarmulke. Immediate family members typically wear a black ribbon to show their grief. This ribbon is worn throughout the seven days of mourning and torn off at the end of the mourning period.
Your Final Farewell: Making the Right Choice for You
Today, countless options are available to honour and memorialize your loved one in a way that considers their wishes and cultural and religious beliefs. Exploring these various services can help you make an informed decision with confidence. If you’d like to learn more about the cost of cremation, please read our complete guide: The cost of cremation.
