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THE CONVERSATION
This article was originally published in The Conversation, an independent source of non-profit news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. rice field. Disclosure information is available on the original site.
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Author: Kathy Cortez Miller, Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Work, Lakehead University, Tara Lewis, Master of Social Work, Lakehead University
Did you notice that you have read more obituaries since COVID-19 started? You are not alone.
Pandemic security measures and restrictions have changed the way people are in social mourning. Traditional funerals and monuments play an important role in considering different ways of connecting, and storytelling and memory sharing take new forms.
Natural disasters, stay-at-home orders, and pandemics cannot stop people from admitting death and needing to support each other. The solution that helped people adhere to the rules and at the same time met the need to grieve with others was the obituary of the COVID-19 era.
Unlike the obituary of the previous year, some of the writings during the pandemic seem to have led a new life with a new level of openness. Obituaries composed during quarantine and limited time often provide a more descriptive, longer, and sometimes intimate story of the dead. On the other hand, some are short and have a strong political tendency.
People create deep, creative, entertaining, and even quirky obituaries as they seek to capture people, their important relationships, and life events. I am. And these very personal obituaries now have a greater reach thanks to social media. Obituaries have grown into a source of public health information reserved by beautiful stories and meaningful memories as people navigate their sorrows.
More than 6 million sorrows
For many, the increase in the number of deaths and the COVID-19 limitation on people's need for sorrow I know how I challenged. People started streaming funerals online, made YouTube videos of funerals, and held drive-through funerals.
The Canadian Grief Alliance has a COVID-19 "Grief Counter" that keeps track of the number of people who are actively mourning someone's death during a pandemic. That number is currently 6,238,962. The number is even higher in the United States, where COVID-19-related deaths exceed one million.
So when it comes to talking about sadness, pandemics have made people more comfortable. Obituaries are also considered a safer and less judgmental place for people to share stories about the life and death of their loved ones, such as whether they died of COVID-19. Some boldly written obituaries included the cause of death and were eloquently called upon by politicians and others to take on the mission.
Obituary increase
Prior to COVID-19, I attended a funeral where people were praised for jokes, performances and tears. And because of the pandemic, Eulogy became obituary and the nature of the performance was successfully translated into printed matter.
When Michelle de Adder's mother Margaret died in January 2021, he wrote a "cheerful and honest" obituary that became viral. In it, he described her mother as "a coupon professional clipper, a cookie bakery, a horror behind the handle, a weak champion, a ruthless card player, and a self-proclaimed Queen Bitch."
In an interview with Next Avenue Dadder, he said: In obituary.
And making the most of printed obituaries has become an integral practice during the pandemic. Renay Mandel Corren's obituary described her as "a plus-sized Jewish woman's redhead" who was good at "her red roots, weekly manicure, dirty jokes, pier fishing, rolling joints, buying dirty magazines". I expressed it.
Funeral directors also listened to the increase in obituaries, saying, "People are looking for a window to tell a life story. You can't do that for the masses sitting in their seats.
Continue to write obituaries
Obituaries function to include meaningful parts of a person's life, and obituaries have been on the decline in recent years. There is, but the family who saw the pandemic gathers to write.
This new collaboration could reflect the focus on the family and community revealed by the pandemic when people were looking for something positive during difficult times. There is also sex.
In an interview with CBC News, Rev. Anthony Bailey of Parkdale United Church in Ottawa said, "When this 1/8 collaboration 3/8 happens, the family circle will show tremendous ability. Method, literally portrays this life. "
COVID-19 brings a new collective focus to people's lives, deaths, and our sorrows. It challenged people to take a closer look at the role of rituals of sorrow, including obituaries.
Former obituary writer of the New York Times, Margarit Fox, told her documentary film Obit that "obituaries have little to do with death and, in fact, have nothing to do with life." I am saying.
The pandemic has forced people to discover new ways to stay connected and consider their mortality rates. Obituaries played a role in facilitating this. So keep connecting, keep reading obituaries, keep writing.
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Kathy Cortez Miller is a core member of the Canadian Grief Alliance.
Tara Lewis does not work, consult, own shares, or receive funds for any company or organization that benefits from this article.
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This article has been republished by The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Disclosure information is available on the original site. Read the original article:
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