Florist News

After reading some posts on funeral work I got the idea that the way funerals are over here are alot different than 'over there'!! So this is how it works here...
Mr or Mrs xyz passes away(a bit macabre, but we usually here it 'through' the grapevine that he/she has died-small town and all!!), we wait for the phone to ring, FD (a nice lady!) calls us (if she/the family orders with us) and tells us what the family would like. At this point the deceased is either on their way or already there to the 'leichen halle' (exact translation-body hall) which is a building right next to the cemetary with 5 cooled rooms on one side and a chapel on the other side, and the deceased(after being 'prepped' by the funeral director) is placed in the coffin, with the lid off, in one of the cooled rooms (small room, about 5x6m with 2 doors that open) so when you open the doors, you are looking at the deceased (feet in front, head at back). The funeral director has bought artificial (nice) laurels in a variety of shapes placed in the 'boxes' -thats what we call the rooms. Usually the family has ordered either a rose with a bit of ivy etc. to be placed on the blanket at the deceased's hands or sometmes they order an arrangement to be placed at the foot of the coffin on a little table or podest. That evening there is a-for lack of translation-viewing of the body for the family/close friends.

If the person has passed away say on a Sunday, usually the funeral is held on the following wednesday or Thursday, if person passed away on a Tuesday, funeral is probly on Saturday..usually 3-4 days after. So once we get the call from FD, we make up what she orders, bring it to the 'leichen halle' and place it there(yes, WE do that!) Then it goes one of two ways as far as family flowers go...either they order with the FD (who has a portfolio of our work to show them) which usually happens if the family is too distraught to come into the shop, or if they are ok, they come themselves and order what they would like, then I have to order in or pick up the flowers I need, make the designs the day before the funeral, and I deliver them myself on the morning of the funeral (most are held at 1pm or 2pm-with a few exceptions). The lid of the coffin is in a side room where I put the coffin spray on myself, and I open the doors of the 'box' where the deceased is laying and place the wreaths etc. at the foot end of the coffin. (This is where my contribution ends.) Then about a half hour before the actual funeral the family/close friends come to have a last viewing, go next door to the chapel and sit down and wait for all the other people to come. As soon as everyone is gathered the pallbearers push the coffin into the chapel, a small service is held(about 15-20 minutes) and then the pallbearers push the coffin out of the chapel to the cemetary with the pastor/father and family following, and then everyone goes to the grave where the coffin is lowered, the Pastor/Father says a few words, the coffin is lowered, the family and funeral guests drop a rose or earth onto the coffin and then everyone either walks or drives to the church(3 churches are in walking distance, the 4th isn't) and there is a service held in the church. Then after the service everyone who feels inclined goes to the church 'community centre' (??) and the church ladies serve coffee and cake...and then its over. While the funeral guests are having coffee and cake the cemetary-workers close the grave and place the flowers from the 'leichen halle' on top of the grave. Usually the family walks back to the grave when everything is over to have a moment of peace at the graveside and to look at the flowers. Unfortunatley, and I say this not to be disrespectful, but alot of folks measure the worth of how much the deceased meant to someone by the size of the tribute...thats horrid isn't it!?!
Anyway, thats really the basics of a funeral in my neck of the woods. Coming from Canada and unfortunately having attended many funerals whilst still 'home', I find the funerals here are cold and depressing. Of course, not saying that funerals are fun in Canada, but there is more of a celebration of life feeling over there. Of course people are sad when a loved one passes away...anywhere...but the difference being here is that the emphasis is put on "death" and not on the life and accomplishements of the deceased. I find that makes it worse.

Rather a morbid thread, but I'd be very interested to know how things are done elsewhere...and it is a part of our everyday lives afterall.

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In Ireland the funeral is normally held on the 3rd day after the death providing time of death is early enough in the day to allow the deceased 2 nights at home eg daddy died on fri at 7 am so we were able to have him home fri afternoon the coffin was in his bedroom fri and sat night with the burial Sun had a prayer in the home 2pm then to church for service usually about half to 3/4 hour then to cementry only family flowers as he had left me a letter stating he wanted donations in leiu, but mummy died Sat 11pm therefore we didn't have her home (as she had been living with me her body came to my home) until sun afternoon so her funeral was Mon again she had requested family flowers only again donations in leiu to church our funerals are normally 2 pm but other faiths would have am funerals almost all deceased here are either kept in the family home or if they die in hosp as my parents did they would be brought home for the 2 nights. Here more and more are having family flowers only with donations in leiu going to cancer research, heart, kidney, hospice or churches. When our baby died the funeral was the same format but there was 95 floral tributes but it is very rare to see so many tributes now.

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hi snowdrop - on a business note I was looking at some of treens work and wondering how on earth she manages to get them done in time - Im in ireland too and often an order will come in the night before the funeral so that kind of elaborite work is out of the question for us - pity
On a personal note Im very sorry for your loss

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wow snowy, I guess its 'normal' for you to have the body at home then, but I think I'd have a problem with that. When my gramps died a few years back in Canada, my parents and grandma had him in a funeral home there because they didn't want his body at home..I'm honestly not even sure you can do that in Canada...

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~success is a lousy teacher...it seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose~

No Maple both mum's brothers and their wives lived in Canada they were all in the funeral home when they died (one Nova Scotia the other Cassiar) but here it is common to have the body in the family home and as sunflower has said very often we only get the order on the afternoon before the funeral which is very short notice if it is a 10 am funeral sometimes the order would come in on the morning of the funeral the shop I work in now always have 3 sprays 3 wreaths and 3 posies made and in the cooler we always have lots greened ready to be flowered after lunch each Sat we must check how many of each are left and then start greening up we must have 20 of each greened ready to be flowered

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oh my...I guess you would have to work ahead with it being that short notice. Strangely I had a lady in today who now lives in Holland but comes originally from Malaysia-very sweet lady- wanted 3 spray-type arrangements, all in white, lillies and gyp and santinis and ornitogalum. She wanted a birch bark 'ribbon' (like the roseball thing of mine in gallery) and of course we were only the 2 of us and I asked her if she had a bit of time because it would take a bit to make them up. She looked at me very surprised and asked "oh, so you make them fresh then?" "In Malaysia(she's only been living in holland for 4 months) shops have them waiting in the cooler!" I had to explain the differences to her, she was fine with it and I gave her a voucher for a cup of coffee (cafe down the street form us!) and told her I'd be done in a half hour(did it-phew!). I don't think I've ever made 3 sprays-75€ each-that fast in my life!!!!!! hehe, Melanie had to take all the customers and I don't think she ever served them THAT fast before!!

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~success is a lousy teacher...it seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose~