Bereavement fares are offered for unexpected deaths but are usually as expensive as regular tickets and require documentation. Major airlines like Delta are eliminating these fares. Post-funeral meals were originally held to nourish the deceased but now comfort mourners. Eulogies should be brief, personal, specific, and honest tributes. Funeral wakes originated from watching over corpses but now refer to visitations where the embalmed body is viewed.

1. Bereavement Fares
• Offered to people who need to
get home on short notice for a
sudden or unexpected death.
• They usually turn out to be just
as expensive as regularly priced
tickets.
• They can be a hassle because
they often require you to
provide documents such as
death certificates or proof of
relation.
• Major airlines, such as Delta,
are doing away with these.

2. A Meal to Die For
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Post funeral meals have become a
tradition in cultures all over the world.
Scholars think these meals were
originally held for the benefit of the
newly deceased.
– In ancient Rome, people believed
that the dead needed nourishment
so they would hold a feast at the
gravesite after the funeral. They
believed the dead person could
take part in the feast and that it
would “relieve” them of their
hunger.
Today, these meals are viewed as an
opportunity to gather around family and
friends and offer comfort and support.

3. Eulogies
• A personal, sincerely felt tribute that captures something true about the
subject, something that made him or her so special to you.
• Tips for a good Eulogy:
– Make it brief, 3-10 minutes
– Spend time preparing remarks and write them down
– Keep it personal
– Be specific
– Don’t be overly glum, humor is good
– Be honest
– Let your feelings show

4. Wake Me When It’s Over
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The word “wake” is connected to
“watch”, as in surveillance
A funeral wake is a custom of keeping
watch over a corpse from death until
burial by family, friends, neighbors, or a
paid watcher
This was done for practical needs such
as keeping rats and mice away from the
body as well as to protect the body from
being taken away by evil spirits
Today the word “wake” is more
connected to the word “visitation”
– This is a viewing of the embalmed
body at a funeral parlor

5. Hand of Glory
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A Black-magic charm that has the power to unlock
the door to any house
How to make one:
– Cut hand off of a hanged killer while the
corpse is still hanging from the gallows.
– Wrap the hand and squeeze out as much blood
as possible.
– Put hand in jar, add salt, saltpeter, and black
pepper. Mix well and let stand.
– Make a candle from the fat of the killer’s flesh.
– After 2 weeks, remove the hand from the jar
and place it in an oven for 1 hour.
– Remove hand from oven and curl it into a fist,
leaving space for the candle.
– Insert the candle into the appropriate space and
squeeze the fingers tight.
– Now you have your very own “Hand of Glory”

6. Death-Related Superstitions
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If your left eye twitches, there will be a
death in your family
If someone in your household dies and
you don’t cover your mirrors, the first
person to see his reflection will be the
next to die
If 3 people are photographed together,
the one in the middle will die
If you rest a broom against a bed, the
person who sleeps there will die
If you walk or ride past a cemetery
without tucking your thumbs into your
fists, one of your parents will die
If you see an ant in winter, all the
members of your household will die

7. Death-Related Superstitions
•
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•
•
•
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If your left eye twitches, there will be a
death in your family
If someone in your household dies and
you don’t cover your mirrors, the first
person to see his reflection will be the
next to die
If 3 people are photographed together,
the one in the middle will die
If you rest a broom against a bed, the
person who sleeps there will die
If you walk or ride past a cemetery
without tucking your thumbs into your
fists, one of your parents will die
If you see an ant in winter, all the
members of your household will die