Revise the following passage, adding sentence variety to create interest, emphasize important ideas, and strengthen coherence.
We are terrified of death. We do not think of it, and we don’t speak of death. We don’t mourn in public. We don’t know how to console a grieving friend. In fact, we have eliminated or suppressed all the traditional rituals surrounding death.
The Victorians coped with death differently. Their funerals were elaborate. The yards of black crepe around the hearse, hired professional mourners, and solemn procession leading to an ornate tomb are now only a distant memory. They wore mourning jewelry. They had a complicated dress code for the grieving process. It governed what mourners wore, and it governed how long they wore it. Many of these rituals may seem excessive or even morbid to us today. The rituals served a psychological purpose in helping the living deal with loss.