Besides their functional purposes, coffins are a symbolic component of funeral rituals in cultures worldwide. And, as you would imagine, different cultures have very different customs when it comes to making and decorating their deceased's coffins. Relatively simple access to resources and traditional funeral customs, for example, have resulted in the popularity of elegant, high-quality coffin designs in the USA.
Funeral homes also emphasize reverence for the dead as a point of sale on a pretty coffin. The coffin is also the centerpiece of the ceremonies during the funeral and is likely to be shown during or before the service for the mourners.
Coffins are usually made in the modern Western world from a solid shell and a plush lining. The shell may be made from a hardy wood— sometimes elm or oak, but often cherry or mahogany— or a heavy metal like steel, copper or bronze. The lining can consist of taffeta, velvet or similarly rich or expensive-looking polyester batting material, similar to a couch cushion.
And just as funeral terminology is carefully designed to maximize consumer comfort, so is coffin design: Most American coffins are manufactured in warm or "advancing" colors as opposed to cooler or "receiving" colors that may more viscerally be associated with the idea of death. As delicate as the business of the funeral is, it is still a business. One of the techniques used by the funeral industry to sell more expensive coffins is to design cheap coffins to be purposely unattractive, and often ugly.
Thus, people who wish to bury their loved ones in style will drop more cash to prevent what could be perceived as bringing a beloved friend or family in a low-quality receptacle into the afterlife. Camogli : questa mattina insulti al sindaco per non aver previsto il crollo. Erano state notate crepe profonde e si udivano rumori sinistri. Local workers had noticed cracks in the cliffs and realised there was a risk of collapse in the days before, authorities explained.
Divers from the fire brigade, coast guard boats and firefighters have been assisting in the search for the remains of the cemetery.
Around 10 of the estimated coffins had been recovered, said regional civil protection assessor Giacomo Giampedrone.
He added that officials blocked the area below the cemetery after the landslide to keep the coffins from floating out to sea. Genoa readies new bridge two years after tragedy.
Some funeral directors admit that setting the features a peaceful facial expression with a sweet smile is one of the most challenging things to do. Even if it seems simple to obtain, it can take a lot of work to do it. Sometimes, morticians will have to use cotton and stuff it down the throat and nose. They may also have to suture the mouth shut with a curved needle and thread, stitching between the nasal cavity and the jawbone.
Some use a needle injector machine to finish faster. For keeping the lids closed and stopping the eye to cave in, they insert tiny spiked cups under the eyelids. Not everyone likes the idea of embalming, so they would instead go with "green burial. Funeral directors remind us that the body has to be buried at least four feet from a tree to protect the tree's root system.
It's not entirely under the tree, but it's the closest you can get. After all, if you want a green burial for environmental reasons, you don't want the tree to die because of your body. If the image of being placed under a tree still obsesses you, you can also plant new trees or shrubs atop the grave.
This way, the roots will grow right over your body. Some people in the funeral home industry think that people can also arrange bodies on their own at home. After all, when a body is chemically preserved, it somewhat loses its natural feel and resembles a was duplicate of the person. A day after one person has died, you can see it very clearly. A dead body should always look like a dead body. It can even help with the grieving process, sustaining acceptance. Home funerals are now legal in all 50 states, even though the involvement of a funeral director is required in 10 countries.
On the contrary, the liquids are washed off the table, going straight into the drain. People don't have the close family networks they used to. It's more frequent these days for someone to have died alone in their house and not be found for two or three days and sometimes two or three months.
We have to go in and remove the body, which can be quite an unpleasant experience. If a body is left untreated at room temperature, it will deteriorate quickly, so at the funeral parlour it will be put into a refrigerated unit until the death is registered. Then, with the family's permission, the body can be embalmed. With the Muslim faith, an imam will come in and wash the body and wrap it in an unbleached cloth.
Hindu and Sikh families will come and do the washing themselves. If the deceased is male, the male family members will come; if female, it will be the women. After embalming, we will dress the body before placing it in a coffin. It depends on the size of the person, but usually two or three people do the dressing. The family usually provide clothing - a favourite outfit or something apt.
African families often provide full robes and headdress, and Chinese families will bring spare clothing to go with the deceased on their journey into the next life. So we dress them and put all the spare clothing around them in the coffin. If the body has been dead for a while and the skin has deteriorated, you have to be very careful. Often, a person may have had a lot of drips and incisions and certain drugs, which can affect the skin, so the skin may be fragile, almost like paper, or weeping.
If this is the case, we dress the body in a plastic bodysuit under their clothes to protect the clothes and prevent leakages. Once the body is dressed, and hair and make-up have been done, the body is placed in the coffin and put in a private viewing room. It can stay there for a day, or longer if required. The longest we've had a body in our chapel is 13 months. A lot of my work is arranging for bodies to go back to their home abroad.
About a fifth of our work is repatriation now because of the cultural diversity of the area we are based in - east London. This requires tropical embalming because the body may be kept for longer. Tropical embalming takes longer and uses stronger chemicals. Ghanaian funerals, for example, can be anything from two months to two years after death. We've had bodies here for three or four months before they've been flown home to Africa for the funeral.
The body is brought out of the fridge and removed from the body bag or the sheets in which it has been wrapped. I gently clean the deceased with a formaldehyde or disinfectant spray. The body might be quite clamped with rigor mortis, so I massage the hands and limbs to work it out, then make an incision to raise an artery so I can inject the formaldehyde.
I tend to use the brachial artery under the armpit, or the femoral artery in the groin area, to avoid incisions being seen, which can be stressful for the families when they come for a viewing.
As the formaldehyde flows through the body, you begin to get colour and a more lifelike appearance. The features will plump out slightly and the deceased will look less drawn. If a body is going abroad, the strength and amount of fluid used is increased, to ensure preservation and sanitation for a longer period. After the formaldehyde, I drain the body of blood and fluid from the organs and chest cavity.
I make an incision just under the rib cage and insert a metal suction tool, known as a trocar, attached to a suction pump. I then puncture the internal organs to drain the fluid. I remove the contents of the intestines, bowels and bladder, too, as these can give off gases and smell. I don't come into contact with the fluids.
It's very clean and tidy. After I have drained the body, I distribute a litre of cavity fluid between the thoracic and abdominal cavities so that all the tissues are saturated and do not smell. Although the bowels will have already been emptied, I put an incontinence pad on the body to protect the clothing and the coffin. We have to take out pacemakers because they can't go into the crematorium.
Usually you are told that the person has a pacemaker that needs to come out, but if you are not, you can see the incision where it has gone in. Next, I pack the throat and nose with cotton wool to stop fluid seepage. If the deceased doesn't have teeth, I put cotton around the mouth to plump it out a little; if they have dentures, I put them in place.
I then stitch the mouth closed from the inside. Sometimes glue is used but I do not like the white residue it can leave after it has dried. I dry the eyes and insert plastic half-moon caps under the lids to help them hold their shape, and a touch of Vaseline helps to hold them closed.
If the eyes are not dried, they can give the appearance of having a tear, which may be distressing to the family. I will wash and style the hair, ensure that the men are shaved and any nasal and ear hair removed. Nails are cleaned and cut. It's a myth that your hair and nails keep growing after you are dead - what actually happens is that your skin retracts, so they appear longer.
Even if the family are not planning to view the body, I like to make sure everything is done thoroughly in case they change their minds. I try to make the face look peaceful because this is the last memory the family will have and I want it to be a good memory. I use very few cosmetics, just enough to take away the "waxy look" that can occur.
The ones that don't will be where the family have refused or the funeral is taking place very quickly. Embalming is an art. The deceased is always treated with respect and I always do the best job I can.
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