Create A Great Funeral Day

What the day is

Create a Great Funeral Day is observed on October 30. Its purpose is practical rather than morbid: write down what you want to happen after you die, so the people arranging it are not forced to guess.

Origin and background

The observance emerged from the funeral planning field in the United States, promoted by advocates for advance planning, and it addresses a well-documented problem.

Bereaved families make expensive, irreversible decisions within days, while grieving, often without knowing what the person would have wanted. In that state, spending more is frequently how people express love, and the industry is structured around that moment. Funeral costs in the United States commonly run to thousands of dollars, and price comparison is rare precisely because nobody feels able to shop around three days after a death.

Advance planning removes the guesswork. It also removes a source of family conflict: disagreements about burial or cremation, religious observance, who speaks, and how much to spend are considerably easier to settle when the person concerned has stated a preference.

There are practical legal points. A will is often not read until after the funeral, so funeral wishes should be recorded separately and given to the people who will act on them. Prepaid funeral plans vary enormously in what they guarantee and how protected the money is, and deserve careful reading rather than a signature at the door.

Options are broader than many people realize, including direct cremation, home funerals where permitted, natural burial grounds and donation to medical schools.

How to take part

• Write down your wishes and tell at least two people where the document is.
• Cover the basics: burial or cremation, religious or secular, where any remains should go, and any music or readings.
• Keep it separate from the will, which is usually read too late to help.
• Say what you do not want. That is often more useful to a family than a list of preferences.
• Ask your own parents, awkward as it is. Most people are relieved to be asked.
• Review it after any major change in circumstances.