Ceremonies
What can we celebrate with a humanist ceremony?
We are often so absorbed by our daily routine to let special moments just pass by, and we don't really live and feel them the way we would.
That leaves us feeling somehow incomplete, like something's missing. And we may ask ourselves "is this all?" or "is it already over?", again and again - but life calls, and we have to get back to normal.
That leaves us feeling somehow incomplete, like something's missing. And we may ask ourselves "is this all?" or "is it already over?", again and again - but life calls, and we have to get back to normal.
Don't let the special times of your life just pass you by.
Those moments of passage deserve value: they represent the meeting point between our past and our future.
On the other hand, ceremonies and rituals without any personalization may not be very helpful: the celebration may become automatic, something that you "have to do", not that you really feel.
A personalized ceremony can be more powerful and truly make a difference.
On the other hand, ceremonies and rituals without any personalization may not be very helpful: the celebration may become automatic, something that you "have to do", not that you really feel.
A personalized ceremony can be more powerful and truly make a difference.
Okay, but... What can we actually celebrate?
Simply everything.
Every moment of passage can be represented by a ceremony, as long as it's something that we consider important for our life, a moment that symbolizes a beginning and/or and end.
Hence, there are many different ways to celebrate - no right or wrong ones: alone, in couple, with a large number of friends and relatives, ... What really matters is the wish to celebrate that moment, and to have a personalization that really reflects who we are, how we feel, and what we want.
Every moment of passage can be represented by a ceremony, as long as it's something that we consider important for our life, a moment that symbolizes a beginning and/or and end.
Hence, there are many different ways to celebrate - no right or wrong ones: alone, in couple, with a large number of friends and relatives, ... What really matters is the wish to celebrate that moment, and to have a personalization that really reflects who we are, how we feel, and what we want.
Let's see together
the special events that can be celebrated with a celebrant
A (humanist) ceemony to honor...
...Love
...Farewell
...Love, again
...a new Home
...a Grand Opening
...any special Milestone
Love is for all
Whether it’s religious, laical or symbolical, a wedding ceremony is probably the most common and acknowledged when we talk about celebrations. And yet, each love story is unique and unrepeatable.
Getting married with the support of a humanist celebrant means having somebody who helps you to find the best way to describe the ordinary or unbelievable coincidences and choices that brought you two (or three? Or more?) together.
I know, you probably have like a thousand songs, quotes and facts that tells something about your journey together or express how you feel for each other’s; you have lost count of all the “I want to have it on my wedding”’s items.
Don’t worry – a celebrant will guide you and help you select not only the most meaningful and beautiful ones, but also those that once put together, really tell your story.
Getting married with the support of a humanist celebrant means having somebody who helps you to find the best way to describe the ordinary or unbelievable coincidences and choices that brought you two (or three? Or more?) together.
I know, you probably have like a thousand songs, quotes and facts that tells something about your journey together or express how you feel for each other’s; you have lost count of all the “I want to have it on my wedding”’s items.
Don’t worry – a celebrant will guide you and help you select not only the most meaningful and beautiful ones, but also those that once put together, really tell your story.
We don't enhance Death: we honor Life
Maybe it’s for the deep sorrow and confusion that we feel when we lose someone, but funerals and memorials are often underrated. We think that the sooner the better, the quicker the better.
But usually it’s not like that. As a funeral celebrant, I have seen (and felt) how painful it could be; but the truth is that humankind needs to say goodbye to those who leave.
When someone passes, you have a chance not only to celebrate who they were, and remembering and honoring their life; but also to unite those who stay (even if just for a day), and to start processing the separation.
But usually it’s not like that. As a funeral celebrant, I have seen (and felt) how painful it could be; but the truth is that humankind needs to say goodbye to those who leave.
When someone passes, you have a chance not only to celebrate who they were, and remembering and honoring their life; but also to unite those who stay (even if just for a day), and to start processing the separation.
Funerals
The time for preparing a funeral is usually quite short, and not everyone is eager to take other quick decisions among all the others this delicate event requires.
A humanist celebrant will help you to have a ceremony that truly honors your beloved one(s).
A humanist celebrant will help you to have a ceremony that truly honors your beloved one(s).
Memorials and Ashes disposal
There is no time limit for loss. Even after months and years, we can create a nice and appropriate fully customized memorial.
If you need support for urns burial or scattering of ashes, an expert celebrant can help you with these delicate, yet meaningful and emotional procedures, personalizing with words, music, and respectful and caring gestures.
If you need support for urns burial or scattering of ashes, an expert celebrant can help you with these delicate, yet meaningful and emotional procedures, personalizing with words, music, and respectful and caring gestures.
A thousand times "yes"
They say, you only get married once (to the same person, at least…). I partially disagree. It’s true perhaps if you think about the “official” wedding day with friends and family reunited; but a married couple can celebrate their love with a ceremony once more, maybe on a special wedding anniversary.
Or maybe you want to renew your vows after a few years – you have faced challenges and went through some adventures you never imagined when you got married first, and now you want to “update” your promises or celebrate the new pages you wrote on your story’s book.
Yes, that makes sense – especially if there are new people now in your life, like children or colleagues or friends, who weren’t there for your wedding. This is the chance for you to feel the newlyweds’ excitement once more, plus a more mature and conscious connection with your beloved one(s).
Or maybe you want to renew your vows after a few years – you have faced challenges and went through some adventures you never imagined when you got married first, and now you want to “update” your promises or celebrate the new pages you wrote on your story’s book.
Yes, that makes sense – especially if there are new people now in your life, like children or colleagues or friends, who weren’t there for your wedding. This is the chance for you to feel the newlyweds’ excitement once more, plus a more mature and conscious connection with your beloved one(s).
An anniversary or vows renewal ceremony works just as any other wedding ceremonies.
If you are looking for help only with writing your new vows, let's talk…
If you are looking for help only with writing your new vows, let's talk…
Home is where your heart is
Personally, I am one of those people who think that Home means not just the physical place, but (mostly) people, relationships, contest, state of mind. And stories.
But eventually, places bring powerful meanings too: they're a stage for lives and people, as well as their memories, changes, choices, their guests, hugs, goodbyes, more stories interlaced together.
Why don't we celebrate when we arrive in a new house, or leave the old one?
The word Housewarming comes from Medieval times and literally means to heating up a place before making it a new home. Traditionally, both in western and eastern cultures people used to bring gifts such as food, or perform rituals against bad spirits.
Today, a housewarming ceremony could be a simple but meaningful moment when guests and hosts come together to share the story of that particular house, and to wish a nice future for the people that will live in or visit that place.
But eventually, places bring powerful meanings too: they're a stage for lives and people, as well as their memories, changes, choices, their guests, hugs, goodbyes, more stories interlaced together.
Why don't we celebrate when we arrive in a new house, or leave the old one?
The word Housewarming comes from Medieval times and literally means to heating up a place before making it a new home. Traditionally, both in western and eastern cultures people used to bring gifts such as food, or perform rituals against bad spirits.
Today, a housewarming ceremony could be a simple but meaningful moment when guests and hosts come together to share the story of that particular house, and to wish a nice future for the people that will live in or visit that place.
From sketch to reality
It's not just an office, a space, an atelier or a shop. It's the result of hard work and savings, of estimations and bets.
It's the starting point for new projects, goals, efforts, and hopefully huge proud.
It's the tangible creation of a dream.
This is why it should be celebrated: maybe a small ceremony with a symbolical ritual (the typical ribbon cutting or something else, made up just for the occasion). It will definitively make you set off the starting point of your new journey: here, now, is where everything begins.
It's the starting point for new projects, goals, efforts, and hopefully huge proud.
It's the tangible creation of a dream.
This is why it should be celebrated: maybe a small ceremony with a symbolical ritual (the typical ribbon cutting or something else, made up just for the occasion). It will definitively make you set off the starting point of your new journey: here, now, is where everything begins.
What is a moment of passage?
Any change in your personal, professional, social or family status can be considered as a passage. It’s something that marks the end and/or the beginning of something. It means that any new change or accomplishment in your life can be celebrated, if you feel that it’s meaningful and you somehow feel the need to stop and consider everything that brought you, and where you can go from there.
Whether it’s retirement, separation, a birthday that means more that just a party, a special anniversary of something that’s important to you, a public or private award ceremony, license achievement, a promotion or new job, we can find the right way to remember and give value to this meaningful occasion of your life.
Whether it’s retirement, separation, a birthday that means more that just a party, a special anniversary of something that’s important to you, a public or private award ceremony, license achievement, a promotion or new job, we can find the right way to remember and give value to this meaningful occasion of your life.
The function of ritual, as I understand it, is to give form to human life, not in the way of a mere surface arrangement, but in depth.
[Joseph Campbell]
[Joseph Campbell]