When someone dies in the UK their body must be buried or cremated. There are many options before and after to remember the deceased and say goodbye. I have put together a glossary to help explain some of the terms:
Living Funeral – a service or ceremony to honour someone and celebrate their life with them before they die.
Burial – interring the body in a coffin or shroud at a public cemetery, in a graveyard linked to a place of worship, at a natural burial ground, or on private land (subject to certain rules.). There can be a funeral service before or at the graveside.
Cremation – the body is reduced to ashes by burning it at a licensed crematorium. The ashes are made available for collection to be kept, scattered or interred.
Funeral Service – a religious, civil or humanist service with mourners that takes place before the cremation or burial.
Direct Unattended Cremation – there is no formal service preceding the cremation. No mourners are allowed to attend.
Direct Attended Cremation – there is no formal service preceding the cremation, but the family are allowed to attend for a short period to see the coffin before the cremation.
After the burial or cremation:
Memorial Service - a structured service for the bereaved and other mourners to remember and pay respects to the person who died. (This can precede the scattering or interment of the ashes or can take place at a specific time like the anniversary of the death.)
Celebration of Life Ceremony – a more relaxed gathering of the bereaved and other mourners where the emphasis is on content to celebrate the life lived in an uplifting way. (This can precede the scattering or interment of the ashes.)
Scattering the Ashes – a gathering or ceremony where some or all of the deceased’s ashes are scattered. This can be on land (permission will be required from the landowner) or at sea or over a body of water (permission is not required but there are environmental guidelines)
Interment of the Ashes by Burial - an urn containing the ashes is buried to provide a place for remembrance. Most graveyards, public cemeteries, crematoria and woodland or natural burial grounds have plots reserved for interment.
Interment of the Ashes in a Columbarium – the urn containing the ashes is interred in a cremation niche in a place designated for storing urns like a wall or designated room.
Memorial – erecting an object like a plaque, bench or plant dedicated to the person who died. Sometimes there is a small ceremony to mark the occasion.
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