A Culture of Memorialization: Examining Public Grief Through Funeral Programs

Grief can be expressed in a vast number of ways, each unique to the person experiencing it. But are there wider trends in the manner in which this grief is displayed publicly? This research examines a collection of Christian funeral programs in Blue Earth County spanning the 1960s to the 2010s. By examining the linguistic and symbolic features of these programs, commonalities in the imagery, bible verses, poetry, or other tributes to the deceased are identified and analyzed across several factors including specific genders, ages, and time periods. This examination reflects a larger culture of memorialization amongst local Christian mourners as they participate in the grieving process. Furthermore, it contributes to larger conversations of grief, mourning, memorialization, and religious ideologies in the Southern Minnesota area