Advice, guides & articles

National Grief Awareness Week 2023 takes place from 2nd December to 8th December this year. It offers us the opportunity to acknowledge, validate, and understand the profound impact that grief has on our lives. Grief can manifest in countless ways, whether the loss of a loved one, a job, a relationship, health, or a way of life, and affects us all differently.

If you haven’t had a chance to visit our special Christmas Memorial Wall for 2023, then click here to have a look at the hundreds of tributes that have already come in. We know that grief doesn't just affect you at special occasions, but they can sometimes highlight a person's absence and make it harder, which is why we created the Christmas Memorial Wall as an outlet for people's love and loss over the festive season. Across the 2021 and 2022 Christmas Memorial Walls, we received over 13,000 tributes from people who are thinking about their loved ones at Christmas time, and so this year we decided to add a charity to our Memorial Wall, to give visitors another way of remembering those they are missing, as well as raising vital funds for a worthy cause. With one in four people suffering from a mental health condition, and especially at this time of year when it can be extra difficult to cope, we decided to raise money for Mind.

Autumn Anxiety is a term that’s new to me, but one that makes so much sense. As many people were looking forward to Autumn, with cosy nights at home in front of the fire, I was busy thinking of ways to force myself to get outside so that I don’t start to feel cooped up at home all day. But is that all it is, or is there more to it than that?

Earlier in the year, Co-op Funeralcare released their 2023 Funeral Music Chart, something which they have now been compiling for over 20 years. In this most recent top ten, we see a lot of the usual suspects such as ‘My Way’ and ‘We’ll Meet Again’, but for the first time in over seven years we see two hymns entering back into the chart. This is presumed to be due to the recent royal funerals that have influenced a return to tradition. Also, proving just how passionate football fans can be, we have ‘You'll Never Walk Alone’ by Gerry and The Peacemakers in at number seven, a song that is synonymous with Liverpool FC. Here’s the top 10 in full: 1. Time to Say Goodbye by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli 2. My Way by Frank Sinatra 3. Supermarket Flowers by Ed Sheeran 4. Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler 5. We'll Meet Again by Vera Lynn 6. Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Eva Cassidy 7. You'll Never Walk Alone by Gerry and The Peacemakers 8. All Things Bright and Beautiful - Hymn 9. Abide With Me - Hymn 10. Dancing In The Sky by Dani and Lizzy

Autumn, with its crisp air, colourful leaves, and cosy vibes, is a season that never fails to captivate our senses. As the days grow shorter and the temperature drops, there are countless ways to make the most of this enchanting season. Get out in nature Make the most of the changing landscape by going for walks or hikes through the countryside, take a trip to a nearby patch of woodland, or just have a stroll around your local park. Explore the changing trees and their vibrant colours, feel the crunch of leaves underfoot, and make sure to wrap up against the cold in a cosy hat, scarf and winter coat. You could even make it into a day out by packing an autumn themed picnic, along with a flask of something hot to drink. Enjoy warm drinks As the temperature cools, autumn is the perfect time to savour hot drinks. Seasonal flavours such as pumpkin spice, apple cider, and hot chocolate are abundant this time of year, so head to your local coffee shop to see what they have on offer, or try your hand at making the drinks yourself at home. Spiced teas are also lovely and warming as the weather turns colder.

Christmas is around the corner again and whilst a period of celebration for many, it can also be a reminder of those we have lost over the years. This week sees Funeral Notices launch their Christmas Memorial Wall for 2023. The virtual tribute page is designed to allow people to share photographs, memories, light virtual candles and pay tribute to their loved ones, whose loss is particularly poignant during the festive season.

Mourning is a deeply ingrained human response to loss, and the customs and practices associated with it have evolved significantly over time. Mourning in the Victorian era was strict, with certain rules and rituals that had to be followed, whereas in modern time mourning tends to be much more relaxed and flexible. Today, we’ll have a look at the key differences between mourning in Victorian times and mourning in contemporary society.

November always starts with a bang in the UK, quite literally as we have just seen on 5th November with Bonfire night, then it tends to hit a bit of a lull as the rest of the month is spent prepping for Christmas, but we’re here to tell you that it doesn’t have to. Here are just a few of the things you could get up to in November!

The arrival of autumn brings significant changes to the world around us, maybe more than any other season. The air grows cooler, the days are shorter, trees change colour and begin to lose their leaves, and the air becomes thick with anticipation for the upcoming festive season. Perhaps this is why autumn evokes such strong feelings and emotions in some people; on one side of the scale, there are people who look forward to the coming of autumn, to cosy jumpers and scented candles, whereas on the other side there are those who dread the looming dark nights and gloomy mornings that autumn inevitably brings. In this blog post we’ll explore the reasons why autumn has such an effect on our moods.

The Halloween we know today is very different from the ancient celtic festival it evolved from. The focus now is on trick-or-treating and dressing up in costumes, but the Halloween traditions we participate in today have evolved from ancient traditions involving the dead. People believed that the line between the living and the dead was blurred on Halloween, meaning spirits could find their way into our world. Not every culture celebrates Halloween, but many cultures have their own traditions surrounding the dead which share similarities with Halloween. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of these traditions.