Happy funerals: A celebration of life? - BBC News
The British funeral has been transformed. Increasingly, the ceremony pays tribute to the deceased's life instead of mourning their death. Why?
The tone is happy rather than mournful, celebratory instead of sombre. Wearing black is commonly discouraged. You're more likely to hear Monty Python's Always Look On The Bright Side of Life - according to a 2014 survey, the most popular song played at UK funerals - than Verdi's Requiem.
[h=2]Funeral music and camper vans[/h]
The British funeral has been transformed. Increasingly, the ceremony pays tribute to the deceased's life instead of mourning their death. Why?
The tone is happy rather than mournful, celebratory instead of sombre. Wearing black is commonly discouraged. You're more likely to hear Monty Python's Always Look On The Bright Side of Life - according to a 2014 survey, the most popular song played at UK funerals - than Verdi's Requiem.
[h=2]Funeral music and camper vans[/h]
- Monty Python's Always Look on the Bright Side of Life is the most requested funeral song in the last six months, according to The Co-operative Funeralcare music charts
- Queen is the most popular group with nine tracks requested, including Who Wants to Live Forever and Don't Stop Me Now
- The theme tunes to Coronation Street, Downton Abbey and Strictly Come Dancing also feature
- JCBs, camper vans, pickup trucks, skip lorries and double-decker buses are among the vehicles that have headed funeral processions