Ceremony

What is the difference and what should we choose?

A funeral and a memorial service (cremation) are both ceremonies following a death and are often referred to under the same term, “funeral.” But there is a significant difference between the two farewells, and in most cases, it is a memorial service. The decisive difference, in short, is how the coffin with the deceased is handled after the ceremony in the church or chapel. In a funeral, the ritual ends with the coffin being lowered into the ground at a grave site in the cemetery, while in a memorial service the coffin is transported by hearse to a crematorium.

It is the wish of the deceased and the family — whether for a coffin burial or an urn burial — that determines whether the final farewell will be a funeral or a memorial service.

Civil funeral or memorial service

If you are not a member of the state church, the funeral ritual typically takes place in a chapel connected to a cemetery, crematorium, hospital, nursing home, or in a private home. A civil ceremony is held without the participation of a priest from the Church of Norway or other religious communities, but the family is often guided by a consultant familiar with the procedures for a memorable and respectful final farewell.

The deceased’s family and relatives choose the content of the ceremony themselves and have full freedom to honor the deceased’s last wishes.