Funeral Service Times August 2017 April 2019 | Page 20

20 COFFINS AND CASKETS
A personal touch
As people move further away from traditional and closer to quirkiness and individuality, it is
becoming increasingly important to allow someone to have that personal touch
B
ack in 2017, president of the
Association of Independent
Celebrants, Harry Foster,
predicted that people would
step away from traditional funerals and
opt for more direct cremations. This
prediction has appeared to hold weight,
as a recent survey conducted by Co-op
Funeralcare suggested that 92% of people
did not want a traditional ceremony.
The trade has always gone above and
beyond to cater to its clients and reflect
their personalities, beliefs and needs when
it comes to ceremonies and it seems that
sense of individuality is getting higher on
the list when it comes to how people wish
to be laid to rest.
One way this can continue to be
accommodated to is by offering a coffin or
casket which embodies the person who is
laid to rest within it.
CREMATION OR BURIAL?
Whether someone is being cremated or
buried can make a massive difference to
the kind of coffin or casket them or their
loved ones may decide on. For those going
with a direct cremation, the design of the
coffin or casket may not be as important
as there’ll be no ceremony and no viewing
of the body meaning only a simple casket
will be needed and the deceased or their
loved ones may have no say in the matter.
For others choosing a standard cremation,
the aesthetics of the coffin or casket may
be more or less important depending on
what the person values. Those who claim
to want a quirky ceremony may see this as
an opportunity to go for something which
stands out or is even customised to add a
different experience to the body viewing
part of a wake, while others will see it as a
temporary ‘holding place’ before the body
goes on to the next stage and decide on
something simple and understated.
There may be a similar thinking process
for people who want to be buried - some
may see it as an opportunity to ‘go out in
style’ as the coffin journeys on the funeral
procession while in some cases, not
drawing attention to what is a sad affair
is something that could be more suitable,
APRIL 2019
making a traditional coffin or casket the
favourable choice.
UPHOLDING TRADITION
For those who do want to stick to
conventional options, a wooden funerary
box might be the most obvious choice,
but as funeral directors know, going for a
coffin or casket made of wood isn’t all that
there is to it.
Older style coffins and caskets tend
to be made of heavier woods which
degrade slower and cause more harm to
the environment over time. Although it
is keeping with tradition, there are many
variants of wood which can cater to a
person’s different requirements and beliefs
and considering the rise of plant based
diets and the increasing awareness of
the effects our lives have on the planet,
a wood which breaks down faster and
is less harmful to the soil it is embedded
in can be the optimal choice for many
people.
PERSONALITY
Although not as widely seen, customised
and decorative coffins and caskets could
be a suitable way to make sure a person
and their character is most appropriately
honoured after their death. This is already
seen in the kinds of wakes some people
have; whether it be a request for no one
to wear black, held at a quirky venue or
by replacing hymns with pop songs a
decorative coffin can be the perfect way
to reflect the type of person the deceased
truly was.
BELIEFS AND LIFESTYLE
As mentioned before, a person’s lifestyle
may sway the funerary box chosen for
them after they pass. If they believe in
and follow a sustainable lifestyle, for
example, it’s likely that the casket or coffin
will reflect that if the burial itself doesn’t.
These can be biodegradable and made
with materials like bamboo, banana leaf,
cardboard, wool or willow.
www.funeralservicetimes.co.uk