In this article, we will be looking at the history and origin of Funeral Homes. It wasn’t always customary for families to call a third party to help them deal with a death in the family. Many years ago, people needed to take care of all the preparation and arrangements for a deceased family member themselves.
The funeral industry evolved out of the need for families not to handle all of the activities related to a death themselves. The industry continued to evolve to meet societal trends and demands and take advantage of technological advancements over the years.
For example, undertakers started as the people who prepared the body and eventually evolved into morticians and funeral directors.
Why did the Funeral Industry Take Off?
The large influx of dead bodies caused by the war in the 19th century fueled the fire of the funeral industry. The industry needed to develop fast to keep up with the high demand for funeral services. One of these services replaced the tradition of viewing the body at home with a viewing at a funeral home.
Origin of the name “Funeral Home”
Regarding the traditions created before the large influx of deaths, funeral parlours adopted names such as “home” and “parlour” to pay homage to the past and respect the crucial personal service they perform.
Before the Civil War, the deceased would not be sent away to a third party. Families would display the bodies in the best room of the house, the parlour, for a couple of days before the burial. Burial commonly was performed on family grounds.
Some families uphold the tradition of preparing and viewing the deceased at home, but it is not common practice.
Preparation of the Dead
Embalming only became widely accepted after bodies of soldiers needed to be preserved and returned to families. After a while, embalming was not done in the family’s home or by individuals. Instead, the body was transported to the professional environment for this process.
Now that we know about the origin, we can look at what Funeral Homes looks like and how they help bereaved families.
Funeral Home Services:
Many things need to happen when a person passes away, and a good Funeral Home can facilitate a lot of those things on behalf of the family. Take a look at some of the Funeral Services on offer from B3 and the benefits they provide you:
Removal of the body
Trying to transport a body without the correct equipment can be a traumatic and challenging experience. B3 Funeral Parlour provides removal of the body service.
Preparation of the Death Certificate & Processing with Home Affairs
Every death needs to be registered, and a Death Certificate needs to be created. This is not a time to be struggling with documents and officials; that is why B3 takes over that process for our customers.
Comprehensive Funeral Consultation
Every person is different, which is why every funeral will be different. We facilitate a comprehensive funeral consultation with the family members to ensure your loved one is laid to rest according to their wishes.
More Funeral Services available from B3:
- Body pre-cooling
- Body registrations
- Body cooling
- Facilitation of interviews with medical practitioners (Home Removals)
- Facilitation of claims with other institutions
- Body Preparation
- Coffining
- Delivery
- Screen
- Church Truck
- Casket spray
- Programmes
- Tent, Chairs and Steel Tables
- Executive Toilet
- Hearse
- Two family Cars
- Lowering Device
- Graveyard Setup
- Family Tents
- Grave Tent
- Covered Chairs
- Red Carpet Cemetery Decorations
- B3 Branded still water
- The sound system at the cemetery
- Special flowers decoration
- Granite Grave marker
- Four hand washing dishes and stands
- Funeral notice
- Media funeral notice
- Catering
- Food Warmer
- Tombstone
- Big screen
- Videographer
- Photos
- Grave Opening & Closure
- Tent Draping
- Cakes
- Exhumation
Losing a family member is a difficult time already, and Funeral Homes developed with the purpose of removing the burden of dealing with death to allow a stress-free grieving period.