In this day and age my guess flowers at a funeral is for decorative purposes to go along with the overly priced coffin and fancy suit that they put on the departed.

If I had my way I would be burried in a simple wooded coffin (like Pope John Paul II) wearing my ripped jeans and my Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt. At least I wouldn't look uncomfortable. I would also prefer fireworks instead of flowers along with Budweiser & Jack Daniels instead of a fancy meal. I prefer a celebration instead of sorrow.

__________________
Ray
1998 Mercedes E320, 200K Miles
2001 Acura 3.2TL, 178K Miles
1992 Chevy Astro, 205K Miles

Who gives a flying F--K.

Nothing short of amazing how a simple topic can degenerate into an intellectual? pissing contest.

"You don't see it my way so you suck"..................seems to be the thing here.

Life is too damn short to be concerned with the questionable validity and importance of your own specious opinions.

3 minutes, you're here on this earth for.

I dunno about you mental giants but the longer I live,the less certain I am of things in general.

__________________

Dear Fellow Brain Surgeons,

Let's move on. This topic has not evolved. The original question has been forgotten and has been replaced by a discussion as to who can pee the highest. It has actually regressed back to caveman status.

I'm going to bed. Goodnight all.

__________________
Jennifer
90 350sdl

Here are some examples of funeral customs and weather flowers are or are not used.

http://www.nsm.org/guides/religions.html

Cultural funeral customs. Good read. Most comment that burial customs are done to comfort the family and bereaved. Many cultures don’t use flowers. Some employ cremation under the belief that it frees the spirit.

http://www.eulogywriters.com/funeral_customs.htm

This one suggests that modern western burial customs originated in Egypt. And that similarly, a variant of burial customs largely represents the class of individual. It nicely describes the growth of the funeral ceremony.

http://members.aol.com/taimission/funeral.htm

The one above is about Taiwanese Funeral Rites. Also a good read.

http://www.morbidoutlook.com/nonfiction/articles/2003_06_america.html

Lastly, the one above covers funerary practices in early and contemporary America.

It is interesting that with the growth of civilization, the funerary rituals tend to move away from the home and have become yet another institution, sadly complete with rituals that seem to benefit capitalism more than anything else.

There was one reference I came across but didn’t save the link, where a modern anti-institutional even retro-trend of funeral burial is to perform burials in wooded areas as opposed to a cemetery.

It would seem that role of flowers in our burial culture has a direct relationship to the importance of ceremony for the family of the bereaved.

On the other hand, as someone above said, modern funerals are mostly for the living. It is very painful to loose a loved one. And a lot of the element of ceremony is about the important tribute of showing sympathy. While some suggest that fear of death are what funeral ceremonies represent, the importance of sharing a kind moment by gesture or symbol with someone at a time of grief should never be considered unimportant.

__________________
...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"