A Short History of American Funeral Industry

If you thought that the funeral you see today is just like how our great grandparents had, then you can’t be more wrong. The funeral that you see today, the people like your funeral director Miami, who organizing your funeral, have changed a lot over the last few centuries. If you like to know what those changes are, here is a short history on the changes in funeral traditions of an American funeral.

Starting from early America, before the Civil War, it was common to find the family holding a funeral. Family members did everything from making the caskets to dressing the deceased person. Caskets were sometimes bought, but the preparation, dressing and setting up the body for viewing were always done by women. There were group of women in each community who were especially tasked with this job. Another feature of the funeral during that time was that, people with grand homes had a door specifically build to take out the dead body for burial. Leaving the house through the same door as a living person was considered as ill-omen and hence the need for this "death door".

The Civil War did not only change the history of USA, but also changed much of our funeral customs. For example, embalming of the deceased person started from this time as bodies needed to be sent home from battlefields for burial purpose. With this process, bodies could stayed fresher for all mourning family members to gather before the burial. Along with embalming, the demand for undertakers, morticians and funeral directors started to grow. So, the modern funeral homes and practices that you see today, has its root in the Civil War.

As funeral industry started to grow, and professionals rather than family members of the deceased person started handling the funeral, a demand for association for these professionals emerged. So, in 1882, professional morticians formed National Funeral Directors Association. It was also the year that saw the first course of mortuary science being offered in Schools; the present Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science was the pioneer in this field. As the 20th century approached, funeral industry was recognized as an important industry of the whole country and was family run in most cases.

The next change in the funeral industry came in the mid-20th century when corporate industries started their foray in funeral industry. Big companies consolidated their market position by buying up smaller, family-run funeral homes. They also provided standardized services and offered trained funeral Directors in Miami to grieving family members to help them cope with their grief. The back office also started to be computerized making it more efficient and faster.

Coming to the present century, funeral industry is undergoing yet another paradigm shift with the rise of demand of greener funeral. Cremation is being preferred by many Americans over burial as they are cost efficient and greener. The present COVID-19 global pandemic has also given rise to online funerals where funerals are being held through meeting apps. Another change in funeral tradition is that it is no longer considered to be a solemn affair; many opt for as a celebration of the life of the deceased person.