 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(March 2013) |
A living funeral, also called a pre-funeral, is a funeral held for a living person. It may be important to the person's psychological state and also that of the dying person's family to attend the living funeral. It is also sometimes used as a time to read the will and explain the reasons behind some of the decisions contained within it.
A living funeral is usually done by someone who knows that they do not have much time left to live. Whether the reason is that the person is terminally ill or is at an old age, the person knows death is near and could use it as closure. It is used to celebrate the happy times, and forgive the body for "failing". [1]
Another reason of having a living funeral is that regular funeral prices can be extremely high. Having a living funeral can save some money, and some feel that a living funeral is more meaningful. In the end, it can be around the same price for the living funeral ceremony and when the person does eventually die, the burial or cremation. [2]
Most living funerals have the same aspects of a normal funeral, the deceased person aside. A common theme is for the funeral to start off the same way that a normal funeral would; somber music, a casket, bible readings, etc. From there the tone is usually switched. Different music is played along with a happier atmosphere. This ceremony is often a very happy event where there can be closure, with the goal to celebrate a life and to give thanks to everyone attending. During a living funeral, families and friends will share stories and memories of the person who is nearing death, and the soon-to-be-deceased person often speaks about their life and who has affected it, while others want to be able to show their appreciation. Friends and family of the person hosting the funeral will say things that they would have said at a normal funeral, except now their loved one is there to hear it. [3]
Living funerals, called seizensō (生前葬) in Japanese, started being done in Japan in the 1990s. Elders in Japan feel that they are burdening their children with their old age, and are ashamed of their failing body. By having a living funeral they feel that they can take some of the stress away from the funeral. After this ceremony, many Japanese "expect nothing" from their families after they die, including a funeral. [4]
Living funerals are very controversial; critics believe funerals should be performed after death, which may stem from a feeling that it is the only way to truly respect the dead. In Japan, a living funeral is also considered "a denial of ancestral significance." [5]
Living funerals can also be seen as egocentric because the person having the funeral may use it as an opportunity to brag, since listing accomplishments during one's life is often a popular thing to do during this ceremony. However, Mizunoe Takiko, who had a living funeral on television, said that the purpose of her funeral was "to express appreciation to all those who have been dear to me while I am still alive." [6]
One of the more famous living funerals was for Morrie Schwartz, as documented in both the book and film Tuesdays with Morrie, which features Detroit Free Press sports columnist Mitch Albom as one of the central characters. Because of this, living funerals became much more popular. Albom brought up the question of why one should wait until he is dead to be appreciated: "What a waste," he said, "All those people saying all those wonderful things, and Irv never got to hear any of it."
The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's stream of consciousness or identity continues to exist after the death of their physical body. The surviving essential aspect varies between belief systems; it may be some partial element, or the entire soul or spirit, which carries with it one's personal identity.
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect the dead, from interment, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour. Customs vary between cultures and religious groups. Funerals have both normative and legal components. Common secular motivations for funerals include mourning the deceased, celebrating their life, and offering support and sympathy to the bereaved; additionally, funerals may have religious aspects that are intended to help the soul of the deceased reach the afterlife, resurrection or reincarnation.
The ancient Egyptians believed that a soul was made up of many parts. In addition to these components of the soul, there was the human body.
Mitchell David Albom is an American author, journalist, and musician. As of 2021, books he had authored had sold over 40 million copies worldwide. Having achieved national recognition for sports writing in his early career, he turned to writing inspirational stories and themes—a preeminent early one being Tuesdays with Morrie—themes that now weave their way through his books, plays, and films and stageplays.
Dead Like Me is an American comedy-drama television series starring Ellen Muth and Mandy Patinkin as grim reapers who reside and work in Seattle, Washington. Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, the show was created by Bryan Fuller for the Showtime cable network, where it ran for two seasons (2003–04). Fuller left the show five episodes into Season 1 because of creative differences; creative direction was taken over by executive producers John Masius and Stephen Godchaux. A direct-to-DVD film titled Dead Like Me: Life After Death was released on February 17, 2009.
Symbols of death are the motifs, images and concepts associated with death throughout different cultures, religions and societies.
"Soul Hunter" is the second episode of the first season of the science fiction television series, Babylon 5. The episode concerns the arrival of a member of an ancient order, the Soul Hunters, on the Babylon 5 station; and reveals a mystery surrounding Commander Sinclair's missing 24 hours during the Earth-Minbari War. It first aired on 2 February 1994.
Yūrei are figures in Japanese folklore analogous to the Western concept of ghosts. The name consists of two kanji, 幽 (yū), meaning "faint" or "dim" and 霊 (rei), meaning "soul" or "spirit". Alternative names include Bōrei (亡霊), meaning ruined or departed spirit, Shiryō (死霊), meaning dead spirit, or the more encompassing Yōkai (妖怪) or Obake (お化け). Like their Chinese, Korean, and Western counterparts, they are thought to be spirits barred from a peaceful afterlife.
Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man and Life's Greatest Lesson is a 1997 memoir by American author Mitch Albom about a series of visits Albom made to his former Brandeis University sociology professor, Morrie Schwartz, as Schwartz was dying from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Following on features by The Boston Globe and Nightline about Schwartz's dying, Albom's subsequent memoir has been widely reviewed, and has received critical attention.
Morris S. Schwartz was an American professor of sociology at Brandeis University and an author. He was the subject of the best-selling book Tuesdays with Morrie, written by Mitch Albom, a former student of Schwartz. He was portrayed by Jack Lemmon in the 1999 television film adaptation of the book.
Death rituals were an important part of Maya religion. The Maya greatly respected death; they were taught to fear it and grieved deeply for the deceased. They also believed that certain deaths were more noble than others.
Posthumous marriage is a marriage in which at least one of the participating members is deceased.
Tuesdays with Morrie is a 1999 American biographical drama television film directed by Mick Jackson and written by Thomas Rickman, based on journalist Mitch Albom's 1997 memoir of the same title. In the film, Albom bonds with his former professor, Morrie Schwartz, who is dying of ALS, over a series of visits.
Have a Little Faith is a 2009 non-fiction book by Mitch Albom, author of previous works that include Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven. It is based on two separate sets of conversations that took place between the author and members of the clergy: a rabbi in a relatively affluent section of New Jersey, and a Protestant minister in a very poor section of Detroit, Michigan.
"Goodbye Mr. Fish" or sometimes "Good-bye Mr. Fish", "Goodbye, Mr. Fish" or just "Mr. Fish" is the second episode of the first season of the American sitcom The Cosby Show. The episode was directed by Jay Sandrich and written by Earl Pomerantz. "Goodbye Mr. Fish" originally aired in the United States on NBC on Thursday September 27, 1984, at 8:00 PM Eastern time.
Sex, Death and the Meaning of Life is a three-part television documentary presented by Richard Dawkins which explores what reason and science might offer in major events of human lives. He argues that ideas about the soul and the afterlife, of sin and God's purpose have shaped human thinking for thousands of years. He believes science can provide answers to some of these old questions we used to entrust to religion.
In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or cremation ceremonies are important, such vengeful spirits may also be considered as unhappy ghosts of individuals who have not been given a proper funeral.
The Time Keeper is a work of inspirational fiction by author Mitch Albom.
"Mom's the Word" is the twelfth episode of the twelfth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the 222nd episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on March 9, 2014, and is directed by John Holmquist and written by Ted Jessup. In the episode Peter's mother, Thelma Griffin, dies of a stroke. After the funeral, Thelma's friend Evelyn arrives to support Peter, but ends up kissing him. The episode marked Lauren Bacall's final television role.
A Korean traditional funeral features Korean Confucianism as well as centuries of indigenous Shamanism. Numerous anthropological scholars have attempted to discern which practices come from Shamanistic roots, and which are more purely Confucian.