Living Wake ~ Living Funeral

Living Wake ~ Living Funeral

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to attend your own funeral? To hear all the lovely things people say about you and the fond memories they share? Increasingly people are choosing to do just that, to have a living funeral (also called a living wake).

A living wake is a ceremony you hold while you’re still alive to celebrate your life with your loved ones. It’s an opportunity for them to acknowledge your impact on them while you’re able to hear the tributes.

A living wake gives you a chance to say goodbye to friends and family on your own terms and gives them the chance to celebrate you while you’re still alive. You deserve to hear how much people love you and they deserve the chance to tell you so there aren’t regrets about things left unsaid.

Why Do People Have A Living Wake

People have a living funeral for different reasons:

  • It gives terminally ill people a chance to farewell their friends in a happy environment
  • It gives people in the early stages of cognitive or physical decline an opportunity to celebrate their life with loved ones while they can truly be present
  • People getting older may simply want to celebrate their life and relationships while they can
What Are The Benefits of a Living Funeral

While funerals held after someone dies are largely for the people left behind, a living funeral is also for the person who is facing their own death

  • The person being celebrated learns about the impact they’ve had on other’s lives
  • It brings community together to support the people closest to the one being celebrated, reassuring the dying person that the people who matter most to them won’t be alone after their death
  • It’s an opportunity to make memories for those who will be left behind
  • It’s an occasion for a person nearing the end of their life to tell their loved ones how much they mean to them, share stories and even bestow gifts and bequests while they’re alive to see the joy they bring
  • It makes it OK to talk about death and can help people begin to accept its reality and understand that the journey can be shared and discussed
  • It gives family and friends a chance to avoid the regret of things left unsaid, which can be a powerful part of processing grief
  • It may suit people who prefer not to have a funeral after their death, though many people have both a living wake and a post-death funeral

A living wake can be as formal or casual as you wish, though the focus is usually on a celebration of life rather than a sombre grieving; some people even call them ‘living FUNerals’. Other names for a living funeral or living wake include pre-funeral, living memorial, life celebration funeral, celebration of life ceremony.

Read stories from people who’ve had a living funeral in this article in The Guardian.

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