FUNERALS

Humanity has always felt the need to take leave of those who die. Funerals are probably the most ancient rites of passage that have ever existed: it is no coincidence that the cemeteries represent the oldest finds of any social formation.

To say farewell to a loved one, to be able to pay tribute to someone who has represented something for us, to celebrate his life just when it is no longer, is of fundamental importance, since it allows us to live through and process the grief that has affected us.

The funeral marks the passage between what has been and what will be: each of us will need a cry, and has the right to be cried over when he dies. This need and right belong as much to religious people as to those who prefer to deal with the death of others as well as their own death in a secular way.

The secular funerals therefore offer the possibility to completely personalise this last greeting, allowing the people involved to express pain for their loss on the one hand, but also to remember and celebrate the past life of their loved one.

The celebrant can help relatives and friends find the atmosphere, readings, music as well as the appropriate words for a farewell that really represent those who are no longer among us.

The secular funeral can take place in the official, designated places — where they are available — but also at home, indoors or outdoors, and possibly also after the burial.

A secular way of saying goodbye, a secular way to forever remember those whom we lost.