Celebration of Life

Celebration of Life

What is a Celebration of Life?

More and more families are choosing to hold ceremonies that celebrate the life and personality of their loved one. A celebration of life ceremony acts as an alternative to a traditional funeral ceremony. It achieves the same purposes as a traditional funeral by gathering family and friends to pay tribute to the deceased. A celebration of life has a more uplifting atmosphere that reflects on positive stories and memories that involved your loved one. The major benefit of a celebration of life is that it allows you the freedom to best display your loved one’s personality, values, and passions, in whichever way you see fit.

The best way to start planning a celebration of life is to begin doing so while your loved one is still with you. This way you have the chance to ask them, “how do you want to be remembered?”, “what are you most passionate about?”, and “what would you like your celebration of life to include?”. This way you are not left guessing what your loved one would’ve wanted when it comes time to plan the celebration of life service.

Celebration of Life vs. Funeral

Both funerals and celebrations of life serve as a way for families to acknowledge the passing of a loved one and say goodbye. However, there are many contrasts between the two ceremonies which commonly leads a family to choose one over the other.

A traditional funeral follows common rituals and customs, and tends to be a more structured ceremony. Usually, it has four main parts: the visitation, the funeral service, the committal service, and the funeral reception. For those looking for a sense of spirituality, religion, or tradition, we suggest holding a traditional funeral service rather than a celebration of life.

Through choosing a celebration of life ceremony, there is more freedom in the planning process. Essentially, this type of ceremony can include whatever your family thinks is appropriate to represent and honour your loved one. The purpose of this service is to tell the story of your loved one’s life and celebrate what made them special.

In many cases, a celebration of life service is held after the body has been cared for. This allows your family more time to come together and plan a service that has includes input from everyone. It is common for families to hold a celebration of life weeks or even months after their loved one has been buried or cremated. This flexibility with time ensures you can schedule for a date for when family and friends are able to attend. In contrast, traditional funerals generally take place a couple days after death for the specific purpose of burial and a graveside ceremony.

celebration of life service dad daughter outside with sparkler

Celebration of Life Ideas

Our many years of experience have confirmed that families today are shifting more towards planning a celebration of life for their loved ones, rather than a traditional funeral. This is due to the more personalized nature that a celebration of life has to offer and the fact that they can showcase the wonderful life their loved one lived.

When planning a celebration of life, some inspiration and ideas can foster from things your loved one enjoyed doing, how they were as an individual, or any strong passions they may have had. Some celebration of life ideas can include:

The Sports Lover

If your loved one was a devoted sports fan of a particular team or avidly played a sport themselves, consider focusing the celebration of life around that team or sport. An idea for this could be organizing a golf or baseball tournament in honour of your loved one.
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The Charitable Person

In the event that your loved one was passionate about charity and giving back to the community, you could organize an event that also raises money for a cause they were deeply passionate about. The fundraiser can be an extravagant event or simply a casual party where people are encouraged to donate. After whatever event you decide on, the contributions can then be donated in the deceased’s name.
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The Musician

Was your loved one a musician or a dedicated fan of a singer/ band? If so, you may want to consider showcasing that particular form of music for their celebration of life. You could consider hosting a small tribute concert in memory of the deceased, where the genre of music they loved can be played.
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The Foodie

If your loved one enjoyed tasting or trying new recipes, and loved trying new things, you may want to consider organizing a dinner party that serves their favourite foods. The dinner party can be at someone’s home or at the deceased’s favorite restaurant. Family and friends can then feel a strong connection to the deceased through the food that they loved.
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Purpose of a Celebration of Life

While celebrations of life are not burdened by social expectations—they can be pretty much anything you want them to be—it's important to realize that the event you're planning should meet the emotional needs of the guests. So, think about exactly who will be there, and what they're likely to want or need. Then, bring in those unique lifestyle and personality characteristics of the deceased; perhaps add live music or refreshments, and you've got the beginnings of a remarkable celebration of life.

Celebrations of life are intended to lift everyone's spirits by focusing on positive memories. And as we wrote in the above introduction, if you'd like to learn more about celebration of life ideas, we invite you to read our 9 Steps to Planning a Celebration of Life. There you'll discover how our experience in arranging and hosting a celebration of life will guide you in the process.

Learn How to Plan a Celebration of Life

Sources:

Barbara Kingsolover, The Poisonwood Bible
Joanne Harris, Chocolat

What is a Celebration of Life?

Celebration of Life vs. Funeral

Celebration of Life Ideas

The Sports Lover

The Charitable Person

The Musician

The Foodie

Purpose of a Celebration of Life

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