Mourning Overseas: How to Honour the Memory of a Loved One from One Country to Another
Published on June 13, 2023
Losing a loved one is always a tough ordeal to get through, regardless of age, gender or nationality. When distance is added to the grief, the pain—already present—is often even harder to soothe. In this article, we will look at ways to honour the memory of a loved one, even when you are far away in another country or on another continent.
Rituals, an essential stage in mourning
Funeral rites play an important role in the grieving process. Whether religious or personal, ritualizing the death helps to give meaning to the loss.
Nowadays, rituals increasingly take the form of a celebration of life. At these events, those close to the deceased gather to offer support, share memories and remember the love they have for the person whose memory they are honouring.
Commemoration: a social event
Funeral rites are often associated with a collective celebration, and therefore with a social event. As a result, when we face the loss of a loved one from a distance, we may feel deprived of our desire to support that person at the end of life, but also deprived of the support of others affected by the loss.
Without attending the usual funeral rituals, it can be difficult to fully assimilate this end-of-life experience and to begin mourning. Nevertheless, gestures of remembrance in honour of the deceased can be made, even from a distance.
Celebrating life through technology
The social aspect of funeral rites can be shared from one country to another, thanks to telecommunications. Why not plan a virtual gathering with your loved ones, by telephone or videoconference? In this way, you can share a moment of remembrance and communication together, despite the distance.
Digital tools such as videoconferencing platforms can also enable you to attend the funeral directly from home. The Aeterna Funeral Complex has the technology you need to attend a live funeral ritual, no matter where you are on the globe.
Our system enables us to broadcast the ceremony from our funeral parlours as well as from the crematorium.
The memorial site, your own space
Even if you don't have access to your loved one's burial site, you can still create your own memorial space at home.
Whether it's indoors or out, the most important thing is that it's a place of serenity, where you can pay your respects in peace. You can personalize it so that it represents the deceased, whether with photos, mementos or objects that remind you of good times spent with them.
If your grounds allow it, why not plant a tree or create a flowered area in memory of your loved one? As symbols of life, plants can be used to create a space of contemplation where you can honour the memory of your loved one.
Return to the birthplace
No discussion of long-distance mourning is complete without mentioning the possibility of repatriating a loved one to his or her country of birth.
If you would like to repatriate a person who has died abroad, or give him or her a final resting place in another country, the Aeterna Funeral Complex can take care of all the arrangements for you and offer full support to you and your loved ones.
Repatriating and transporting a deceased person require professionalism and expertise. Our team therefore makes a point of supporting families with respect and dignity, so that they can celebrate the life of their loved one in their own way.
Source:
https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/devhumain/1900-v1-n1-devhumain06851/1087283ar.pdf
https://journals.openedition.org/ideas/1158
https://lepetitjournal.com/expat-emploi/coaching/vivre-une-perte-lorsquon-est-expatrie-268006