End of Life Traditions: Funeral and Burial Services

Computer Classes every Sat. mornings 10-12. "Open House" Whatever you need. Drop in anytime during those two hours.

 

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The Library will CLOSE Early, Tuesday, December 31, at 5:00 pm, New Year's Eve. and CLOSED January 1st,  New Year's Day. We will reopen on the 2nd at 9 a.m.

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There will be no Children's Programming until January 4th.

 

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Check out our new blog on movies and music at: RPL's Movies and Music by Robert Finch

 

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Genealogy tip for today: End of Year/End of Life Traditions 

Since it is the end of the year, we have been looking at end-of-life traditions. Father Time has come and how do we handle it? Here are some more customs. 

Service:

A service is held and led by some kind of officiate. The service may be held in a church or synagogue, Funeral Home or home of the deceased. The service typically includes songs, Scripture, prayer, and words of comfort from the clergy or person in charge. Sometimes poetry is read, or a eulogy. This may largely depend on the location of the service and tradition of the place of worship, if that is where the service is held.  

What is the difference between Funeral Service and a Memorial Service? There is little difference except for one detail - the presence or absence of the deceased person. If the casket or urn is present, it is a funeral service, if the body is not there in any form, it is a memorial service. 

There are always exceptions to every tradition. I have a relative that lost her husband. She had a visitation for him, but no funeral, per se’. Instead she had a memorial dinner where friends and family got together and remember and shared the memories of their loved one. A meal is often served but, usually it is after everything else, including the burial service, or after the last event locally. 

In some countries, if cremation is the choice, then the cremation is the event in and of itself. Known as a funeral pyre, it is attended by the eldest son, in some cases, or by the immediate family. Some are done on land; others may be set afire and pushed out to sea. 

Burial:

Burial is the third stage of the death rituals. We have touched on that some already. When not required within 24 hours, the burial ritual is another service of its own. A short scripture, short words and a prayer of committal to the ground “from whence we came” are given. It may take place locally or in some cases burial may take place in another location. When it is local, then a funeral procession from service to cemetery takes place, with the Funeral Hearse carrying the casket leading the cortege. 

Speaking of the sea, there are times when burial is at sea. This may be dictated by circumstances or by choice - as in the case of Neil Armstrong, who requested it. 

In pioneer days in the US, folks were buried quickly because as people moved or traveled west, there was usually no one available to do the embalming. The one who has passed away was buried quickly.  Also, as we already mentioned, the Jews will bury within 24 hours as well. 

When the burial has to take place some distance away, the casket is usually sent to a local funeral home that is in charge of arrangements. They would be responsible for getting the casket to the cemetery, and a short committal service is held at that time. Often this is attended only by family, but is more determined by circumstances. 

Little has changed in the 200 plus years of our country. Procedures have improved; conveyances have changed, e.g. from carrying the body on a plank, to a horse draw wagon, to a funeral car. But basically, in this country the customs have roughly remained the same. The biggest difference comes usually when a death takes place in other countries.

 

 

 

“History – it’s who we are; Genealogy – it’s who I am” sg

 

 

 

If any of these posts are helpful drop us a line in the comments section below. We just want to know if the information we provide to you is beneficial in anyway.

 

 

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End of Life Traditions: Preparations and Visitation

Computer Classes every Sat. mornings 10-12. "Open House" Whatever you need. Drop in anytime during those two hours.

 

♥

 

The Library will CLOSE Early, Tuesday, December 31, at 5:00 pm, New Year's Eve. and CLOSED January 1st,  New Year's Day. We will reopen on the 2nd at 9 a.m.

♥

 

There will be no Children's Programming until January 4th.

 

♥

 

Check out our new blog on movies and music at: RPL's Movies and Music by Robert Finch. See the new additions of websites at the bottom left side of your screen.

 

♥

 

Genealogy tip for today: End of Life Traditions

Since the change of year dates are often illustrated by Father Time (the Grim Reaper) and the New Year Baby, let’s look at end-of-life Funeral Customs. They vary from country to country, even region to region and definitely from religion to religion. But in America there are some generalities.

 

Preparation:

In this country a casket is most often used although the term casket is used interchangeably with coffin. Technically a coffin is six-sided with one end smaller than the other with the head laid in the larger end. The casket may be open or closed for viewing, but almost always closed for the service. It usually is dependent on the preference of the family. Most often it is open, but in cases of severe illness or tragic accident where disfigurement has happened, then the casket may be closed.

Embalming, and cremation or not is also stipulated by what religion the deceased was. Hindus, Sikh, Roman, Greek, some Christians, or the secular will cremate. Islam, Judaism, and Catholicism prohibit cremation. Judaism prefers to bury within 24 hours and therefore do not normally embalm their loved one.

Even the custom of dressing the body varies. In southern Louisiana (where I used to live) the woman is usually put in a penoir set, i.e. nightgown and matching housecoat, because the bible refers to those “who are asleep” meaning dead. In other parts of the country usually someone’s Sunday best is put on. In some cases when it is a bride who has died, she may be buried in her wedding dress.

I will have to tell you a quick story here. When my grandmother was alive, her hairdresser was always trying to get her to have her hair fixed a different way. Grandma always said “no”. The hairdresser told her that when Edna died, then, she would fix it the new way. Grandma replied, ‘You do and I’ll raise (sic) up and haunt you.’  The day came when Grandmother passed away. The hairdresser was called in to do her hair. She and Mom stood by the casket talking about memories. Suddenly they both remembered at the same time what Grandma had said. Without another word spoken, the hairdresser looked at mom and said, ‘don’t worry, Beth, I won’t do it’!! Of course, they had a good laugh over it.

During the Victorian days, houses were draped in black swags or drapes. This isn’t done any more to speak of, except in cases of a formal funeral, or a state funeral of some dignitary. Folks usually where black to funerals as “black” is the color of death in America. But even people are not doing that as much as they used to, either. Americans try to avoid death, and do not indulge themselves in mourning like other countries. Thus, the trend to get away from black when someone dies.

Visitation:

Visitation is a common practice in the United States. But the location may vary depending on the region. Where I lived in Kansas, this was sometimes held in the home. This was determined more by church than community, as there were others who would have visitation in the funeral home. It usually was held the evening before the service, for a couple of hours. In the south the visitation is held for 24 hours, staying open overnight leading up to the service.

Saturday we will look at the service and burial rituals. Be sure to come back.

 

“History – it’s who we are; Genealogy – it’s who I am” sg

 

 

If any of these posts are helpful drop us a line in the comments section below. We just want to know if the information we provide to you is beneficial in anyway.

 

 

Now You Know!