Your family member is now at rest and now is the time to create a fitting tribute to them. The question is, how do you decide which type of stone, what color lettering to use and what to say on the inscription? Memorials and headstones come in many different materials, colors and sizes, and so choosing between them can be confusing and tiring.

You should start with the color.

Funeral directing has come a long way since it first emerged as a profession more than two centuries ago. For a long time, funerals had been arranged through individual people, who often did it just because they were friendly with the family who had lost someone. They arranged for someone to prepare the body (often referred to as 'the layer out') and organized the coffin maker and grave digger.

Days after a 7.0 earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti, family members battled for a proper burial of their loved ones. Time and again, tragedy followed moments of hope. Yet, despite the deaths and destruction, the people struggled to survive. And hundreds took to the streets, singing and chanting amid huge mounds of rubble - a clear sign of the resilience of the human spirit.

It's hard to say something when your friend or loved one is grieving and yet in some ways you wanted to show that you care and you are willing to offer them comfort. One ideal choice of showing your concern is by giving them gift and let it speak for what your heart is saying in times of their lonely moment. Sympathy flowers are such a comforting gift and an elegant expression of your sympathy.

Headstones of famous, or sometimes infamous, people can be found in cemeteries all over the world, and lots of them contain inscriptions written either by or about the deceased. These epitaphs, far from being simply morbid, often make interesting reading.

Take, for example, the memorial stone for William Shakespeare, which reads: "Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear, To dig the dust enclosed here, Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones".

When providing support to a family at their loved one's funeral, people will often give flowers. Flowers have always been an important component of a funeral. They show respect and honor to the life of the departed and give comfort to the family. When choosing flowers to give at a funeral, you have to make sure they are the appropriate type of flowers for such a somber occasion.

Today, more than ever, the role of funeral directors is continuing to evolve so as to keep up continual changes in cultural expectations. The profession has significantly moved on from its beginnings, way back in the eighteenth century.

Over the past ten or twenty years, society has begun to think about death differently, and funeral directors have had to meet these new needs.

Many of us have been lucky enough to live to advanced adulthood before having to cope with the reality of the death of someone who really matters to us.

My parents both lived into their 90s. My grandparents did as well. So, I was very well into adulthood before having to face death that really touched me.

My grandparents were wonderful people, but because they were so old when they died and I had known them primarily as a child, their death was a sadness and my parents mourning was real, but it didn't really reach me deep down inside.

After 42+ fantastic years of what many would consider a perfect marriage, my wife died.

There is no way to prepare for the shock or the pain that such an event evokes. There is no future in suggesting that one should prepare for it. Nonsense.

Let's leave to one side all the possible situations where the relationship was less than perfect and where death might even be a kind of release or blessing.

Holidays are when families get together. If you're grieving, commercials and programs showing happy families celebrating together can make this most festive season seem like one long reminder of your loss. Thankfully, by incorporating your memories of your passed on loved one in your traditions, you can honor your grief while celebrating the holiday season.