Funeral celebrant Funeral celebrant Funeral celebrant is a formal term denoting members of a group of non-clergy professionals who are committed to preparing and delivering high quality funeral ceremonies, which are not closely linked to any religion or to belief in an after-life. The concept of funeral celebrants is analogous in Western countries to that of civil celebrants (for marriages). It began in Australia in 1975. On 19 July 1973 the Australian attorney-general Lionel Murphy had appointed civil marriage celebrants with the aim of creating ceremonies of substance and meaning for non-church people. As secular (civil) marriage ceremonies became accepted, first in
Modern Times (novel) chapters, titled "Modern Times," in "Renditions", 2 (Spring 1974), p. 126-164. In Chapter 16 Master Yao takes his son and three disciplines and Shanghai in order to show what Western civilization looks like to them. Master Yao has them explore Shanghai and familiarize themselves with the academic programs at schools in the area. Modern Times (novel) Wenming Xiaoshi (; "Short History of Civilization" or "A Brief History of Modern Times" or "A Brief History of Enlightenment") is a novel by Li Baojia (Li Boyuan). The novel is a satire of pseudo-reformers in the Qing Dynasty period who found difficulty adjusting