In Western Europe and most western countries the funeral ritual begins with the washing of the corpse, and the dressing of the body in the clothing suitable for burial. It is far less common now to have the body embalmed, changes in fashion and technical advances in the design and building of coffins as made embalming less popular.
The next step is usually to approach a funeral director to begin the process of deciding on the type of funeral that will be required; this is nearly always designed to be a ritualized ceremony in memory of the deceased. This may take the form of a funeral service in a church or chapel or in a secular form as a celebration of the life of the deceased.
This will include many items such as selecting the type of coffin, or number of cars required to carry the mourners to burial site. There will also need to be arrangements made with the church or other location for the selection of music and prayers.
Very often these days especially when the deceased is a younger person far less traditional music is played during the ceremony. Often music may be something very close and dear to the deceased and may include music that not very long ago would have been considered completely inappropriate for a funeral setting. But times have changed and it is now seen more important to comfort the bereaved rather than to emphasis tradition.
The same is true of items such as hymns and prayers, these should be selected for the benefit of the mourners not for the sake of tradition. It is not unusual at even church services for funerals to take place without either hymns or prayers. But of course these selections must be whatever the loved ones left behind feel is most appropriate for that funeral.
The actual details of funeral will also depend on the religious affiliations of the deceased and bereaved. There are slight differences from one Western religion to another but the basis of the process is always to help deal with grieving. As part of this grief process it is necessary for the bereaved to witness the burial, or perhaps the cremation of the body as a way of helping to accept that the loved one has died.
The whole formal ritual process of burial has developed along similar lines in many cultures across the globe independently of each other. The reason for this is that psychologically human beings need to witness a final act in order to help the ones left behind realize and appreciate that the death is real and that the burial or cremation clear indication that deceased life has ended.
The burial is also a way of immortalizing the deceased by marking the place where their body lies. Also it makes a focal point for loved ones to visit so that they may console themselves and perhaps even talk to the deceased to bring themselves comfort. It is a place where those left behind can come to visit on special occasions such as the anniversary of a person's death or birthday.
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