Funeral Procession
Foaming Draught
Shipmate
When I was ministering in a group of country towns, it was the practice that the Funeral Director and I would walk slowly in front of the hearse as it left the church. If to the cemetery, then we would walk all the way. Were the deceased prominent enough in local life, shops would close on the route and their proprietor and customers stand respectfully outside. If to the crematorium, then the Funeral Director would hop back into the hearse after a couple of hundred metres or so, and I would hoof it back to the church to disrobe. This is still the custom in many Australian country towns.
Now in a suburb of North Queensland's de facto capital, I try to bring rus to urbe by walking out of the church grounds exit driveway in front of the hearse, then at the entry driveway 100m or so away, the Funeral Director and I hop back respectively to the hearse and the church.
At my most recent funeral, of a WWII veteran, when I turned to go back to church I saw that his grandchildren and great-grandchildren had been following, holding aloft a framed photo of their beloved patriarch.
Is this custom followed in other countries?
Now in a suburb of North Queensland's de facto capital, I try to bring rus to urbe by walking out of the church grounds exit driveway in front of the hearse, then at the entry driveway 100m or so away, the Funeral Director and I hop back respectively to the hearse and the church.
At my most recent funeral, of a WWII veteran, when I turned to go back to church I saw that his grandchildren and great-grandchildren had been following, holding aloft a framed photo of their beloved patriarch.
Is this custom followed in other countries?
Comments
I very much like that, especially if they had worked it out amongst themselves.
The practice at St Sanity is that the crucifer and presiding priest lead the hearse out of the driveway and then the first hundred metres or so along the road. Just when they leave sometimes demands a bit of calculation. They don't step out in front of a bus, for example, and try to finish the little procession without holding up any traffic.
It is a very solemn look.
Interestingly, possibly worryingly, there have been a few instances where the procession has been the only funeral. Where the big church funeral is no longer possible, some families have opted to have the procession as the only wordless tribute and have then buried (or cremated, which isn't so common here as it's a fair way off)without further ceremony. It will be interesting to see how this develops over the next months, when standing outside will be colder and wetter.
*It may be because I'm finding services in church these days so overloaded with words that I really don't want to attend anymore...
However this morning I was planning with two siblings for a nice Christian funeral for their Dad, which will include a procession past the golf club for the rest of the village to pay tribute.
Now off to take a wedding!
He was buried at Brookwood Cemetery, in a completely silent 'ceremony' - no words at all - and the dignity of this impressed itself on the assembled mourners.
Sometimes, silence is better than sentimental or jejune words.
In my part of the American South, unless the place of burial is adjacent to the church or funeral home chapel, the procession consists entirely of cars and often go for a distance of a number of miles. It’s typically led by a police car, with blue light on, followed by the hearse, then a car with the clergy, then cars with the family, then cars with others. Traditionally, all cars in the procession have their headlights on.
Also traditionally, it’s understood that cars in the funeral procession always have right of way, regardless of stop signs or traffic lights—that’s one of the reasons for the headlights, so that others know who’s in the procession (and where it ends). And it’s customary for all other cars to pull over and stop while the procession goes by. These customs are still practiced in rural areas and small towns, but not so much in larger towns and cities.
I will say that I have never lived in really small-town America, and things may be different there.
The dead rise and reclaim what is rightfully theirs.
In what were then often more settled neighbourhoods, and when people knew that X was ill, I guess it was a dignified way of letting everyone know that X had passed away.
In some places, of course, the church bell would be tolled (one bong for every year of X's life) - see Dorothy L Sayers' The Nine Tailors for more information...
Yes, X's corpse (suitably dressed and coffined) would often be kept in the house - for The Viewing - prior to the funeral. See H G Wells' The History of Mr Polly for more information...
Yes. I last saw it when living at home in the late 1960's. As neighbours to the deceased the curtains in windows facing his home were closed on the day of the funeral marking respect.
Given, as you say, the need to avoid delay, I would assume that The Viewing would take up only one or two days...
TBH, it all sounds very civilised and dignified. No hiding from the fact of our common mortality!
My Grandfather tolled the bell on such occasions. The last was in April 1967. He had been specifically asked by the person to do it - indeed he was summoned to the sick bed for the conversation.
It was the custom to toll the tenor bell for a man, the 4th bell for a woman and the treble for a child. Both dad and granddad worked for the churchwarden - a farmer - and were given the time to do this. Dad used to sit in the belfry with a rope on the clapper ringing every 30 secs watching the progress of the funeral down to the cemetery 15 mins walk away: grandad was usually a coffin bearer.
Today, if the hearse brings the deceased to their home on the way to the funeral, the undertaker will walk in front to the end of the street. Other traffic does normally give way. (I do not know what happens from the Church to the cemetery. I do remember a shaken whisper from my daughter "Are they going to walk the whole way?" the first time she saw a procession led by someone on foot.)
OTOH religious funerals are few and far between here.
I'm past 70, and when I was a child, I'd heard of these sorts of things in small towns in rural Canada. But it's been many decades since anything of the sort has come into my view, partly I suppose because I have always lived in cities, where such customs really don't fit. Police certainly don't get involved with private functions in this way, four or six lane roads don't lend themselves to pulling over, and almost every car built in the last 15 years must have its headlights on at all times, day and night.
I set out out St Sanity's bell-ringing customs, and there have been no complaints from neighbours. Perhaps that's because religious funerals here are as rare as you set out. I don't have any statistics, but most services these days are held at the (combined) cemetery/crematorium, and most of those are non-religious. 80% of weddings are non-religious and I'd not be surprised if the percentage is not higher for funerals.
In my part of the American South, it was traditionally a spray of white flowers—lilies and others—hung on or near the door. I still see it sometimes.
In my student days in Ireland in the 1970s, this was the standard practice-- I recall when a local carpenter died, and the neighbours stood outside as his coffin was taken away-- at the time this was exceptional, as this was the only Protestant family on the street. Through the wonders of Whatsapp I spoke with a recently retired GP friend (a sign of may age is that my friends from the professions who in times gone by ran afoul of the Guards during the Great Dartmouth Square Bicycle Streak, are now retired) who confirmed that the practice of drawn curtains will still be found in rural areas or in the older parts of Dublin, but only most rarely in the newer suburbs.
In the windswept frozen wastes of the Ottawa Valley, funeral processions have been vehicular time out of mind, but the funeral directors have little flags inscribed with "Funeral" so that the cars might pass through all but major intersections. At major intersections, the procession breaks to admit the passage of cars, and the forward parts of the procession halt or travel very slowly until the rest follow up. In a small Valley town (Pembroke), I have seen a municipal police car with the procession, but that is the only time I have noticed this. This might be as most smaller centres contract their policing to the provincial force.
He told me that the cemetery officials tried to get the widow to leave after the graveside committal, but she refused to go, and while normally they would have insisted, for this very popular former mayor they made an exception. He said she stood watching while the casket was lowered and the grave entirely filled in, and she didn't leave until the workers were finished.
I thought the *traditional* tunes (perhaps in New Orleans?) were Just a closer walk with Thee on the way to the grave, and When the saints go marching in on the way back!
I wonder what these excellent people charge?
https://youtube.com/watch?v=oThwrtMaH9c
Seeing the link, I straightaway thought of Tuba Skinny, and yes, there they are!
Dunno if they do marching - they mostly seem to sit out in the street...
Put them on a float in front of the hearse. Have only recently discovered them. Superb musicians.
It did indeed.
Yeah it looks rather posed unless done with exceeding dignity. It's not an opportunity for showing off
I'd suspect that most of the other states in America have similar laws, though whether or not they're always enforced can vary.
He had to help a colleague collect a body, in a coffin (as the family chose) from the 7th floor of a tower block. One of the lifts was out, but they got the box to the flat and installed the occupant with due dignity. Then they realised they would have to stand him in the corner of the (one remaining working) lift, as the doors would not close with him horizontal on the bier. They pressed the button - and the lift went up, as it had been called from above. They had to put on a dead straight face, stand in front of the deceased propped in the corner, and eyeball those who were waiting above as the doors opened, in silence. Then the lift went down - and stopped again, and again, and again, as anyone needing a lift, was relying on that one only. It sounded like quite a journey
Our lady undertaker leads the procession in a black 3/4 length skirt, frock coat, top hat and black walking cane. While it looks very stylish it does strike me as being somewhat saucy - must be the cane. I half expect her to turn to someone and say "Come here. Who's been a very naught boy, then."
I notice that where I am currently in Scotland there's still a tradition of a walk (usually quite short) in front of the hearse by the undertaker, maybe to the entrance of the crem building. Or away from the church for a short distance after the service on the way to the committal, when the coffin has been loaded into the hearse. In Ireland it was expected that the clergy would also walk with the director. But not here I think. In Ireland (maybe more in rural parts?) the walk could be considerable, through a whole village, or down most of the main street. Drivers knew what the score was, and bystanders would sign the cross, stop on the footpath and wait for the hearse to pass etc. But in such places there'd often be a large crowd of mourners behind the cortege.
In Scotland of course there is often a piper leading the hearse, too!
Street and a bit a.kng, and then after a while the piper gets into his strategically left car and we get into the hearse (before the new situation which means I can’t ride in hearses) and off to the memetery where the procession re-forms and then, while I do my bit at the grave the piper quietly climbs the nearby hill to do a lovely distant lament when it is over.
This week I took the funeral for a distinguished player of shinty, the Highland sport, and the real religion in this village. After the first procession we went to the shinty ground, where players past and present, wearing their ceremonial sweaters (not their strip) made two lines, 2metres apart. Each held a ceremonial shinty club, of black wood, and they made a guard of honour with them while the hearse drove through the ranks, across the pitch where the deceased had so often lead his team to victory. With the autumnal hills behind it was beautiful and very moving. Then 20 permitted for a funeral and I then went on the the cemetery to finish as usual.
In the old normal such a player would have had the “shinty boys” of all ages in their blue sweaters attend the service in a body and make a guard of honour at the gate of the cemetery.