Celebrating Life: The Rise of Life-Celebration Funerals in the UK
High quality and accredited funeral celebrant training will teach you how to use humour appropriately in a funeral service and how to celebrate the life, values and beliefs of the deceased.
The UK funeral industry is undergoing a profound transformation, with more people choosing to celebrate the lives of their loved ones in a personalised and joyful way. Co-op Funeralcare, the UK’s largest funeral provider, reports a 20% increase in requests for celebratory or "life-centred" funerals since 2018*. This data is significant as Co-op Funeralcare accounts for nearly 16% of the UK funeral market and operates over 1,000 funeral homes across the country. With such a substantial presence, their findings offer a comprehensive insight into changing funeral trends across the UK.
The Shift Towards Life-Celebration Funerals
Traditional funerals, once characterised by sombre tones, hymns, and religious readings, are evolving into services that focus on celebrating life rather than solely mourning loss. Traditionally, funerals were often a solemn affair, featuring hymns and Bible readings that reflected grief and loss. However, there is a clear shift towards services that better capture the essence of the individual’s personality and experiences.
Today, many families prefer to personalise services, choosing the deceased’s favourite music, such as the songs they loved to dance to in their youth, rather than traditional hymns. Similarly, uplifting and humorous poems are replacing Bible readings and sad poems. Families are also increasingly wanting mourners to wear bright colours rather than black. Families value sharing funny stories and anecdotes, creating a ceremony that reflects the joy and warmth of the deceased’s life. This shift represents a growing cultural trend: a move away from mourning as the sole focus, to a celebration of life’s moments, memories, and unique experiences.
Why Train as a Funeral Celebrant?
With this rise in life-centred funerals, the role of a funeral celebrant has become more relevant and rewarding. Celebrants are now leading services that honour the individual’s life in a meaningful, authentic way, providing a bespoke experience tailored to the wishes of the deceased and their families. As funeral preferences shift, celebrants have the opportunity to be creative, flexible, and compassionate, making each ceremony a unique tribute.
Our Celebrant Training School offers practical funeral celebrant training courses where students are fully assessed and individually developed, designed to meet this growing demand.
We offer FREE Training so you can learn about the job of a funeral celebrant and assess whether you have the right skills..
We teach you how to conduct meetings with bereaved families and how to write a personal, dignified and celebratory funeral service.
We teach you how to deliver a funeral service appropriately in a crematorium chapel, a municipal cemetery or graveside in a natural burial ground.
We teach you how to launch your business, get bookings and how to grow your business professionally.
Learn more about our funeral celebrant training course here.
*Source: Read the full Co-op Funeralcare Report here