Humanist Celebrations and Green Funerals

Between Christmas and New Year I attended the humanist celebration and cremation of the husband of a friend of Denise’s. As with all funerals it was a tremendously sad occasion and I can not even begin to imagine what Denise’s friend is going through at the moment. At the same time however, it was, in the humanist way, a celebration of his life. Although I did not know him, I feel sure we have a lot in common and that we would have got along tremendously. When my time comes I can only hope that there will be as many people at my funeral saying similarly nice things about me.

This was the second humanist celebration that I attended in 2009, the first being that of a friend I was at University with. I am now convinced that this is the sort of send off I would like.

The Service

Music that I would like played includes:

• Queen – Who wants to live forever?
• Queen – Princes of the Universe
• Barber – Adagio for strings

Burial

I would like to buried, in a wicker or cardboard coffin (or even just a woollen shroud), in somewhere like this, with a tree planted over the top. At the moment, preferably a rowan tree.

More information about green burials can be found here.