Happy Halloween! You might be asking yourself why there is a post about Halloween on our site. Well, each year I am asked what it’s like to work in a funeral home during October and around Halloween. Some ask if we dress up like the Grim Reaper or if we have a makeshift haunted funeral home for people to visit. We receive phone calls from people wanting to know if they may use a casket for their spook alley or have a hearse come to a Trunk-or-Treat. Through it all, it is business as usual for us.
The costume I wear on Halloween is a business suit, dress shirt, and maybe a festive tie.We take care of families just like we do on any other day. We do observe a decline of services held on Halloween, but, every once in a while, we have a funeral or memorial on this day. At the office, some of our staff bring in their children to show off the little one’s costumes and grab a few treats. Perhaps the weightiest result Halloween has on our staff is that everyone brings in their left over candy, and we all gain 10 pounds from not letting it go to waste!
Fifteen years ago when I was living in Budapest, Hungary, I noticed that the observance of All Souls Day or All Saints Day was treated more as a “Memorial Day” for the dead. This approach seems a bit more down my alley as a funeral professional since caring for those who have past away and their families is what I do. Desiring to learn more about why we celebrate this holiday I started to do a search on the internet and found out some interesting things. Click on the links below to get some Halloween information.
History of Halloween ~ History Channel
History of Halloween ~ Wikipedia
No matter how you celebrate this holiday or if you do not celebrate it at all, remember that in our funeral homes it is business as usual. No matter what day it is we are helping people say good-bye to loved ones and helping them begin adjusting to life without their loved one.
This Halloween, please be safe and have fun, so that we don’t end up becoming a part of your Halloween celebrations. I am Brandon W. Burningham, CFSP & CPC, and I though you might like to know.
Brandon W. Burningham CFSP, CPC