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Funeral Service

Keeping Traditions Alive After a Loss

January 1, 2018 • Teri Vila-Caballero

When you lose a loved one, it can feel like nothing will ever be the same again. In a way, that’s true. You will never have that person back and it’s hard to move on. But keeping up with family traditions that they loved is a wonderful way to honor their memory. During this difficult time, here are some tips from your local funeral home in Key Biscayne, FL on how you can incorporate family traditions into your regular gatherings and remember your loved one at the same time.

Acknowledge the Loss

Everyone notices that your loved one is no longer there, so acknowledge them. Say a toast in their honor or tell a story about what they would have said had they been there. Give your family a sense of togetherness over the grief and bring everyone in on the loss. You will likely work with a funeral home to get through the initial loss, but you’ll still feel the emptiness in the future as well.

Consider Change

Family traditions might change after you lose a loved one, especially if they were in charge of the traditions in the first place. No one can quite make pies the way your loved one did, but that doesn’t mean you never have pie. It just might not be homemade any longer. Be open to shifts and changes, but try to honor your loved one by keeping the basic traditions alive.

Plan Ahead

Traditions don’t often just fall together. They have to be orchestrated in some way. Communicate to your loved ones how you want them to be involved with the traditions you hope to keep alive. They can prepare themselves for a new normal within your family gatherings. Continuing traditions can be a therapeutic experience and can honor your loved one at the same time.

Share Memories

Sharing special memories of your loved one is a great new tradition to institute to keep them a part of the gathering. It might be sad at first, but there could be funny memories that come up as well and everyone can laugh together and feel the spirit of your loved one.

Honor Them

Your loved one might not be physically there any longer, but you can take steps to honor their presence anyway. You might set an extra spot at the table in their memory or create a corner with their picture that people can visit when they are over. Trying new traditions to honor their presence, even though it is no longer physical, helps to keep them a part of family gatherings in a big way.

Continuing some traditions after a loss may be seamless while others take work. It can hurt to see traditions go on without a certain person doing their part. While there’s nothing you can do about that, you can honor their memory by carrying on with the traditions they loved. When the time comes to organize the funeral services, you’ll need to call a funeral home for help. Contact Ferdinand Funeral Homes & Crematory, located at 2546 SW 8th St. Miami, FL 33135. Call our funeral director at 305-631-0001 to go over the options and packages we have available for your family to consider in honor of your loved one.

Teri Vila-Caballero

Teri Vila-Caballero

Teri Vila-Caballero is the Pre Need Director at Ferdinand Funeral Homes & Crematory. She joined the team in 2012 to fulfill her calling to serve our community.

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