How Beijing celebrates Tomb-Sweeping Day
CHINA – The centuries old Tomb-Sweeping Day or Qingming Festival falls on 4 April this year.
funeral traditions
Every country and culture has its own traditions and rituals around death and dying. Here is a glimpse into funeral traditions around the world.
Japan’s high-tech futuristic cemeteries
JAPAN – Yumiko Nakajima, a woman in her 70s, is selecting her grave. But instead of choosing a hunk of stone in a
New law reacts to unconventional funerals
CANADA – New legislation in Quebec aims to react to new unconventional attitudes to conducting funerals.
Thinking outside the box one last time
UK – We’re lucky in Britain not to face the kind of restrictions over death ceremonies in place elsewhere, so it’s
Egyptians were buried in recycled coffins
UK – Fitzwilliam Museum’s exhibition shows how tomb thieves stole materials from older coffins to make new ones
Amazon Japan offers Monks for memorials
JAPAN – A new service from Amazon Japan – ‘Mr Monk Delivery’ – provides Buddhist monks who will perform
The women who stay by your side to the end
UK – The death doulas: they are not medical experts, but they work alongside NHS staff in hospices or the community
Why Africans in the UK pay to send bodies home
UK / AFRICA – “My father’s dream was for him to be buried in his birthplace and have the call to prayer resonate over his
Mourning jewellery is valuable today
‘If these mortuary jewels were as a whole very ugly, what shall be said of the hideous lumps of crudely manufactured jet, which
Why humans care for the bodies of the deceased
In tracing the history and culture of corpses, a new book shows the importance of remembrance to our species. The ancient
The beauty of cast-iron in Alabama’s grave covers
USA – In Alabama cemeteries, cast-iron was used to make grave covers to prevent erosion and also for headstones,
Cremation: historical attitudes to human remains
UK – From 18th century religious battles over the revival of cremation to colouring tattoo ink with ashes, Thomas Laqueur on
Why I belong to a South African burial society
SOUTH AFRICA – Traditional funerals in South Africa are big affairs where even the poorest households spare no expense, so
The rest of the world can learn from Irish funerals
IRELAND – I encountered a young Irishwoman not long ago, who talked to me about having spent some time working in
What happens when you die in North Korea?
There are many funeral halls in South Korea, but there were none in my hometown in North Korea – we usually
Where in the world is it illegal to die?
UK – Six towns have outlawed dying since 1999, with penalties ranging from fines to increased taxes – and they’re far from the
How Irish people want to die
IRELAND – Ireland supposedly ‘does death well’. But a new survey suggests that it’s a modern taboo – and that end-of-life care in
The emergence of death and dying as we know it
USA – Once upon a time, people died in their homes. Up until the time of death they were cared for by friends, family members,
