Huffington Post: Lights, Camera, Mortician! The Rise of ‘Fun Funerals’

Uh-huh. As I have said repeatedly to those who have ears to hear, the only true balm and Good News for those who grieve at a funeral is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and those who belong to him. Anything else is utterly futile and essentially cruel nonsense. You can not make chicken salad out of chicken you-know-what, no matter how hard you try.

n-I-WANT-A-FUN-FUNERAL-largeThe wide range of what’s considered “creative” or “unusual” when burying a loved one means there are little to no statistics on such practices, but industry experts say redesigning the standard funeral is increasingly popular. For the 2.5 million Americans who die each year, families are “making funeral decisions based on different values than previous generations,” said Jessica Koth, a spokeswoman for the National Funeral Directors Association.

Cremations are now used in 43 percent of deaths, and environmentally friendly“green funerals” are becoming more common. From customizing the casket to offering surprising music, costumes, themes and performances at the service, families are “seeking experiences that are different than those they perceive as part of a ‘traditional’ funeral,” said Koth.

Cultural, religious and political upheaval in the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s led to more diverse views about death, noted Gary Laderman, a professor of religious studies at Emory University and author of Rest in Peace: A Cultural History of Death and the Funeral Home in Twentieth-Century America. And, as those in the baby boomer generation age, that has led to more recent changes in how people imagine their funerals.

Read the whole sad thing.