“Irish Grief: Traditions, Myths, and Mourning Practices” will feature Jennifer Muldowney, an acclaimed author and expert in modern funeral planning, who will explore Ireland’s rich and fascinating ...

Southerners quickly switch into hosting gear at the first sign of a wedding or a baby shower, deploying casseroles, strategizing seating charts, and polishing silverware. Funerals are no exception. In ...

PITTSFIELD — In the 1800s, public mourning rather than private grieving was a way of life. Victorian social etiquette laid down strict social rules for mourning, from the clothing worn to the length ...

In Tana Toraja, a mountainous region of Sulawesi, Indonesia, villagers pour massive resources into funeral rituals: lavish feasts, ornate effigies and prized water buffaloes for sacrifice. I witnessed ...

Autumn leaves lie on graves at Cologne's Melaten Cemetery. Cemeteries have long been seen as quiet places of reflection, but changing mourning practices are redefining them as spaces not only for the ...

Sit shiva for seven days. Spend another 30 in sheloshim — a secondary mourning period — and say the Mourner’s Kaddish for a year. Between all of its mourning rituals, Judaism offers plenty of ...

Planning a funeral is never easy, especially when emotions are heavy and time feels rushed. In these moments, families want ...

It can be difficult to know what to say or do when a friend or colleague of another religious culture loses a loved one. Faith leaders from five religions will discuss mourning customs and traditions ...

Source: Carl Rudolph Sohn (1845-1908) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons The Victorian society of the late 1800s was obsessed with death. Queen Victoria set the tone for this after the death of ...

The death of a pope is a unique circumstance in the Catholic Church. The death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the first pope in modern history to resign his position before his passing, is even more ...