It is quite unfortunate that at one point or the other in our lives, we would have to attend a funeral. Death is inevitable even though nobody loves to talk about that fact. Our prayers every day is that we live for a long time, and die at an old age. But when someone dies and you are invited to the wake and funeral do you go? Yes indeed, you should go. It is a way of paying your final respect to the person that died.
On the other hand, you may be wondering if it is alright to send flowers to the wake or funeral. Basically, common sense together with proper discretion is all you need to guide you to appropriate funeral etiquette. But even with this, there are still some things that you need to know about flowers and wake or funeral.
After the passing away of a loved one, family member or a friend, it is understandable that you may want to send funeral flowers to the deceased family member. The flowers could be a kind of comfort to the deceased family member. No matter how small the flowers are or the arrangement, it all doesn’t matter as long as it passes down the same message. Be it a formal arrangement, or an informal arrangement. There are basically no hard and fast rules that suggest what kind of flower you must send to the deceased or the type of arrangement.
Wake or Funeral, Where do you send the Flowers?
After the passing away of a beloved friend or family member, most people usually hold what is called a wake. A wake is a vigil that is held before the corpse is being buried. After the wake, then the next day or days later, the funeral would take place when the corpse would actually be buried. And thus the question of either sending the flowers to the wake or funeral can arise and may be really confusing.
Some people would prefer sending or bring the flowers themselves to the wake, and the funeral too. Also, some other set of people would prefer having the flowers sent during the funeral. And the last sets of people are the ones that send the flowers during the wake. There are actually no hard and fast rules that say the flowers must be sent at any particular time. All we have are just some reasons why we do send flowers and some common funeral etiquette.
- WAKE
You could send flowers to the wake of a loved one. There is actually no harm in doing so. In fact, you can decide to send flowers to the wake of a loved one as a way of expressing your condolences, most especially when words fail you. During the wake of the deceased, emotions are really high, as everyone is grieving and very sad.
At this point, a flower would do a lot of good especially to the closest person to the deceased. Perhaps the deceased was married, giving a bouquet of flower, maybe the lilies. Lilies represent peace, harmony, purity after death, and innocence. You can also check out the meaning of other types of flowers in other to be able to pick just the right flower that best expresses your feelings.
- FUNERAL
The funeral is also another time you can decide to send flowers. Actually, a lot of people prefer to send flowers at this time. Sending flowers during the funeral is more or less a way of paying your final respect to the deceased. It is also a time you can actually say your final peace to the deceased and leave behind a flower. You can also decide to come along with a bouquet of rose. Rose signifies cloud and serenity. There are other flowers that you can still check out to best express how you feel.
- BOTH WAKE AND FUNERAL
Last both not the least, flowers can be sent to both the wake and the funeral. Sending flowers at both times is actually an ultimate way to show respect, love and loyalty to the deceased. But then it all depends on who the deceased is to you and the kind of relationship that existed between both of you. But the bottom line is that it is best to send flowers to the deceased both during the wake and during the funeral.
When sending flowers or anything of comfort to the deceased family, you may just need to pay attention to some few details. You may want to consider not sending anything too silly or light. Some examples include sending balloons, and any other kind of joke items that could be considered disrespectful. There are various reasons why people send flowers to either a wake or a funeral. Allow me to indulge you with a bit of it.
Why do People Send Flowers to Wake or Funeral?
Like I said earlier, there are various reasons why you should send a flower to either a wake or a funeral. First of all, the relationship you had with the person that died could determine why you would want to send flowers to the wake or funeral. People may also want to send flowers in the way of offering their sympathy to the deceased family. Some of the most common reasons why people send flowers to wake or funeral include:
- To pay final respect to the deceased or family members
- To offer a kind of sympathy to the deceased family members
- Some people believe it brings peace to the deceased
- It could also be a way of showing grief
- A way of expressing love to the deceased
It is usually customary that as a friend or a family member, you need to pay your final respect to the deceased by viewing in the casket to see the body there. Then you may say a silent prayer or any final words you have. At this point, it would only make sense for you to drop a flower just before you leave.
