Funeral Service History

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Funeral Service Most people dismiss anything having to do with death out of fear. The uncertainty some associate with death has caused Funeral Service to be a particularly taboo subject in society. One may assume funeral directors are the sketchy personalities enthralled with death, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Over the years, Funeral Service has progressed and become a larger industry. Funeral Service has changed in its history over time, affecting the education required, and the job they do today. In the present time, Ancient Egypt is one of the most notable early civilizations that took care in preserving the bodies of their dead (Wikipedia.com). However, preservation of the deceased’s body advanced during the Age of …show more content…

Taking biology, chemistry, business, and public speaking classes while in high school is a great help when it comes to getting a degree in mortuary science (collegegrad.com). Communications courses are also helpful to take before going into mortuary science (nfda.org). When going to college for a mortuary science degree, the typical classes to take include: ethics, grief counseling, funeral service, business law, embalming, and restorative techniques (collegegrad.com). The education requirements to become a funeral director are to: have a high school diploma or equivalent; graduation from an accredited program requires the completion of an associate’s degree, the completion of approximately forty-five credits specifically in mortuary science; an internship or apprenticeship ranging from one to three years; and passing a state examination (nfda.org). To take the funeral directing and embalming exam, one must be twenty-one years old, have completed two years in an ABFSE mortuary science program, and serve/have served an apprenticeship lasting one to three years (ibid). The required apprenticeship of one to three years can be completed before, during, or after earning a mortuary science degree (ibid). Funeral directors and embalmers must be licensed in Washington, D.C. and the state where they are employed, with an exception for Colorado …show more content…

Funeral directors are full time employees. They sometimes are on call and have to work some weekends and holidays (collegegrad.com). “The median annual wage for undertakers was $46, 840 in May 2012” (ibid). Most plans for a funeral service are made within twenty-four to twenty-seven hours after the time of death (ibid). This means that funeral directors typically handle more than one funeral at a time (ibid). There are three types of funerals that the family of the deceased may choose from: a “traditional” full service funeral, immediate burial, or direct cremation (Wikipedia.com). If one desires an open casket funeral, the deceased would need to be embalmed. Embalming is the process of removing blood from the deceased’s body and replacing it with embalming fluid in order to preserve the body (collegegrad.com). When embalming, a funeral director must follow five steps: one-checking paperwork and identifying the body to make sure no mix up between funeral homes has been made, and two-disinfecting the body and setting the features (cracked.com). “Setting the features is where we pose and manipulate the person’s face to give them that ‘just sleeping’ appearance” (ibid). Restoration might also be necessary depending on the condition of the body. Restoration is the process of using materials and cosmetics to return the body back to the way it used to look or at least close to it (ibid). Besides preparing the

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