Traditionally, funerals have always focused on the life hereafter. We gathered at the funerals to show our last respect to the departed and to mourn his death. “May his soul rest in peace!” is what we prayed for him. However, things have not changed much since then, we still mourn the dead, but along with it, we also celebrate the life that was. That is why often a memorial service is held separately from the funeral. Through the memorial service, people want to convey how much the deceased meant to them and how they are going to miss him.  

It is important to note that while funeral service is held while the body is still there; the memorial service is always held after the body has been dispersed. However, whether we have a funeral or a memorial, at heart, all of us want our loved ones to give us a grand send off. Yet, our family may not have ready money at the time of our death or they can be so grieved that arranging a proper funeral/memorial service may become tough for them. That is why people today buy memorial plans while they are still alive. 

However, it is important to find such plans first. Always contact reputed establishments for that. For providing advanced funeral arrangements Guatemala has quite a few reputed funeral homes. You can contact them with qualms. However, the first thing you need to do is to decide what you want. There are indeed so much to decide.

• What type of funeral service you would like to have? Some prefer a religious funeral service while others may prefer non-religious memorial program.
• Decide the venue next. Memorial services can be held anywhere, even at home, but funeral services must be held in a church, moratorium or at burial site.
• Next, you choose between traditional burial and cremation.
• If you prefer to be cremated, will you want your remains to be preserved or would you rather they be scattered all over land or water?
• If you prefer to be buried, choose the type of casket you would like as your final resting place.
• Do you have any preference over the burial site?
• Also, decide on the budget and scale of service that you would like to have.

Once you have made up your mind, you must let your family know about it and then take time to visit different homes to talk to their directors. It is important that before you buy a plan, you know about then. Do you know how a religious funeral differs from a non-religious memorial service?  However, most prefer memorial plans that include the best of the both worlds. 

Such plan contains some spiritual elements such as reading from Bible and recitation of selected psalms while the non-religious part of it consists of reading of poems that celebrates life more than they mourn the death. The famous poem, ‘Parable of Immortality’ by Henry Van Dyke, which opens with the famous line, “I am standing upon the seashore” is just one of them. 

If you search the internet, you will find many other poems as well. The mute point is that, if you talk to the director of a good funeral home, you will be able to have many important inputs and choose a satisfying memorial plan. Always remember, memorial services is not all about mourning the death, but celebrating life as well. That is why we now choose expensive caskets and have different rituals such as visitations and memorials included in the funeral service. 

Paying for the casket and the burial plot are two main expenses of a funeral process and if you have a proper plan, their cost will be included in it; consequently your family members will not have much too worry about; they can now concentrate on choosing poems, writing eulogy or making templates. These also are part of memorial service. If you have any special preference in these regards, let your family members know in the course of general conversation. They are sure to remember.

It may be our own memorial service, which we are trying to arrange in advance or it may be for a loved one, who has just passed away; in both cases, we should take pains to change our attitude towards death. This will automatically change our attitude towards the memorial services. We have to recognize that death is the final celebration of life and so a memorial plans should be neither depressing nor morbid. Instead, it should be dignified and respectful with rooms for expression of joy or may be a little laughter. This attitude should reflect in our choice of eulogy, poems as well as in caskets and flowers.

Article by Dunbar Winston of FuneralesReforma, who is a specialist in hispanic estate planning. For more information on contratos funerarios and funerales Guatemala, visit his site today.