Funeral Rituals and Traditions: Part I

Perhaps you were among the millions of people who watched the touching but COVID-restricted funeral of England’s Prince Philip on Saturday, 17 April, as it was broadcast on live television. If you did, you couldn’t help but notice how the entire procession was steeped in tradition and symbolism. Of course, unless our family is royal or quite prominent, we are not going to be surrounded by hundreds of military troops nor are we likely to warrant television coverage of our last moments above ground, but most of us will certainly be affected by symbolism and tradition as we deal with the loss of our loved ones. And knowing more about what preceded our ancestors into their final resting places helps us understand them better as well.

Coffins and Caskets

Although we use the terms interchangeably, they are not the same. A coffin has six sides, is hexagonal, and often has a lid that comes off or is hinged, whereas caskets are rectangular with four sides and most often, have split lids. They are also, mistakenly, usually called coffins by most of us.

Historically, coffins came first, and they were only for the wealthy. By law, in England, poor people were buried in shrouds or sheets and placed directly into the ground. British colonists brought their laws with them to North America, and when the English law changed in 1700, allowing everyone to be buried in coffins, the colonies quickly adopted the new trend. The shape of a coffin was meant to mimic the human body, and it lasted in popularity until the Victorian era, when the glorification of death, combined with the huge numbers dying in the Civil War in this country led Americans to abandon the British model and adopt the rectangular shape that we commonly see today.

The evolving name is interesting, too. Coffin comes from an old French word, “cofin,” meaning a little basket or case. In Middle English, a coffin referred to any kind of chest or casket, meaning a container. As death and funerals became more romanticized in the nineteenth century, using the word “casket” rather than “coffin” added the connotation of storing precious goods with respect.

Common Rituals

No matter what religion you practice, or even if you don’t practice any, you may be familiar with certain common American rituals tied to death and funerals:

• Visitations/Viewings/Wakes: A time to keep watch or vigil over a loved one before the funeral as a sign of love and devotion
• Wearing black (or any dark color): A traditional way to show sadness and mourning
• Funeral processions: Walking, or, in modern times, driving, behind the casket on the way from a funeral service to the cemetery
• Tossing dirt on the casket: Symbolic of our being returned to the earth from which we were born

Funeral Rituals in Family History Research

As you do your family history research, you may want to know more about how your family treated their dead. 

• Look for newspaper ads and articles on death and mourning.
• Investigate mourning clothes, jewelry, and needlework items done by relatives.
• Learn more about the symbolism of tombstones.
• Find out about customs unique to your culture or religion, like Jewish people sitting shiva or Irish people holding days-long wakes.
• Determine if anyone in the family had military or heroes’ honors bestowed on them at their funerals: Bagpipers? Carriage processions? Gun or cannon salutes?

Rituals and traditions at the time of death help us find closure and begin the process of mourning. For most genealogists, cemeteries are a wonderful source of information, but knowing what comes before our ancestors were buried can be equally helpful.

Check back next week for more on this fascinating subject!

Sources for More Information

The Newman Brothers, “From Coffins to Caskets: An American History,” Coffin Works, 2014 http://www.coffinworks.org/from-coffins-to-caskets-an-american-history/

Joy Neighbors, “History of Coffins and Caskets,” A Grave Interest, 2012 https://agraveinterest.blogspot.com/2012/08/history-of-coffins-caskets.html

“Funeral Traditions, U.S. Funeral Traditions,” The Funeral Source, 2020 https://thefuneralsource.org/trad01.html