In many people’s minds, a funeral is a place of tranquility and composure. At least when they think about a traditional funeral. But more and more people are choosing to have non-traditional funerals.
Bath University sociologists found that people who’ve chosen to cremate their family members and have a celebration-of-life service instead of a traditional funeral feel more in control of their grieving process.
Traditional or not, people should still grieve appropriately and treat the whole ordeal with respect. Sadly, that’s not the case for every funeral. Many people shared their stories of end-of-life service mishaps when one netizen asked: “What’s the craziest or strangest thing you’ve ever experienced or witnessed at a funeral?”
Bored Panda got in touch with the Redditor who started this thread, u/AffectionateHand2206. They were kind enough to share their own strange funeral story and tell us which entries from the thread surprised them the most. Read our conversation down below!
To know more about funeral etiquette, Bored Panda also contacted Kari The Mortician. Kari Northey has been a licensed funeral home director for 20 years and has worked in the funeral business for almost 30 years.
She’s a passionate educator who shares her knowledge about the funeral business with fellow funeral directors and consumers alike. She kindly agreed to tell us more about the etiquette of modern funerals. Read her expert insights below!
More info: Kari The Mortician | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook
Shackdogg , MART PRODUCTION / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
“The moment the service was over and during the entire funeral procession, two women who would barely even have qualified as acquaintances were heard wailing and yelling about how they’d lost their brother and close friend above the 200+ mourners.”
NaturalFLNative , Yaroslav Shuraev / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
amboomernotkaren , Lum3n / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
“Then when the coffin was lowered into the ground, the two women pushed his kids and widow aside and pretended that they were going to throw themselves in. His siblings and a few guests intervened. The women tried to free themselves and go at it again. One even claimed that no one could understand the extent of her grief.”
“It was bizarre and heartbreaking at the same time,” the Redditor adds.
BMcCJ , EVG Kowalievska / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
Thernuk , Karolina Kaboompics / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
Lavenderdream1OX , cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
‘When my bf died. He was young, extremely well known and popular with the ladies. An unknown woman was crying hysterically and tried climbing into the casket with him. His brothers pulled her out and me with others escorted her outside to calm her down.’ It made me wonder if this kind of thing happens a lot more than I ever cared to know."
heaven-leahh , Wendy Wei / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
TeachOfTheYear , Elina Volkova / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
MousiePlanetarium , Savannah Dematteo / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
The Redditor posts various questions on the AskReddit subreddit from time to time. “I’d say I am a generally curious person and I love finding things that connect people.”
“And sometimes it’s the shared unusual experiences that remind us that no matter how out there our experiences are or seem, there will (almost) always be someone somewhere who can relate to them. I find that thought comforting,” the Redditor shares.
MysticMitts , Александр / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
zorggalacticus , cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
goblinmarketeer , Rafa Barros / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
“It was a formal event years ago and attendees wore suits and dresses and arrived promptly for the events,” she explains. “Now, just like with the more casual dress code on airplanes and restaurants, people will wear jeans or sweats to attend a funeral and arrive late.”
Sad_Spring_6033 , Pixabay / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
celticgrl77 , Claudia Barbosa / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
Exotic_Asparagus2185 Report
shayjaye , Pavel Danilyuk / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
lifeofwatto , cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
Velvet_EmmaX , Tima Miroshnichenko / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
MarlenaEvans , cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
Tiobrock , Anna Shvets / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
Ceilibeag , Brett Sayles / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
SweetFluffyPrincesx , Karolina Kaboompics / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
RareBeautyOnEtsy , Alex Green / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
Heisenblah , Pavel Danilyuk / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
Dreamy_queenX , William Fortunato / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
galwegian , Jesús Esteban San José / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
UberSox , RDNE Stock project / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
PattiiB , cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
Z_Bunny__ , Sora Shimazaki / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
LunarRainbow26 , Allan Carvalho / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
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