To help you better understand the various customs and traditions of funerals you may be attending, we have provided the following information. We hope it is helpful to you.

Funeral Traditions and Customs

Viewing
Regardless of their religious affiliation, many families precede the funeral with a gathering where the body is present in an open or closed casket. This tradition has many names, including viewing, calling hours, visitation, or wake, yet it is always a time for friends and family members to pay their respects. Generally, fraternal or religious services are conducted during viewing, which may be held one day to one week before the funeral. A one- to three-day viewing period is common. While it is traditional to hold viewings at the funeral home or mortuary, they may also be arranged at a church or private estate.

Pallbearers
A pallbearer helps carry the casket containing the deceased during the funeral and committal service. Pallbearers are often close friends or family members who consider it a privilege to perform this task for their loved one. Usually, six individuals perform the pallbearers' task, but others may also accompany the casket in an honorary role. Families who make funeral prearrangements may designate which individuals they wish to act as pallbearers. Professional pallbearers may also be hired with the assistance of the funeral director.

Jewish Customs
The three branches of the Jewish faith, Orthodox, Conservative and Reform, practice slightly different funeral traditions.

Among Orthodox Jews, members of the Chevra Kadisha, or sacred society, perform a ritual washing and dressing of the deceased. Jewish law does not allow embalming, and the deceased is placed in a simple wooden casket. As a sign of respect, burial must take place as soon as possible, preferably on the same day. A rabbi or cantor conducts the funeral service, which includes special prayers and a eulogy. The service may take place in a funeral home or synagogue. Mourners usually escort the casket to a Jewish cemetery for a committal service. The seven days following the funeral service equal a formal mourning period called Shiva. During this time members of the deceased's family receive friends and other family members. The grave marker or memorial is traditionally unveiled 11 months to one year after the death.

Conservative Jews follow many of the customs of Orthodox Jews, prohibiting cremation and directing that the body be buried in the ground. Reform Jews modify certain traditional customs, with some allowing embalming and the use of non-wooden caskets. They also view cremation as an acceptable option, and may shorten Shiva to as little as one day.

Catholic Traditions
Traditional Catholic choices would include the Vigil, which is held at a funeral home, a Funeral Mass at the church, and the Rite of Committal in a Catholic cemetery. During the Vigil, the priest usually conducts either a wake or rosary service. The Funeral Mass includes prayers, scripture reading, organ music, a homily, and the Eucharist. After the mass, worshippers journey to the cemetery for the Rite of Committal. In some cases, mass is not celebrated. When this occurs a priest may lead a service at the funeral home or graveside.

The church has allowed cremation since 1963, but prefers that cremation take place after the Funeral Mass so that the body is present for the final rites. When cremation is chosen, the church expects the ashes to be committed in a cemetery. Either burial or above-ground placement is appropriate. Scattering or retaining the ashes at the family's home are not accepted forms of disposition.

Visitation is frequently held during evening hours, so it is recommended the family have a private visitation earlier that day. At that time, the family has an opportunity to see the body before the general public and request any changes to the deceased's appearance.

Protestant Funerals
Protestant denominations include Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Episcopalian and Presbyterian. Protestant funeral ceremonies are typified by diversity and flexibility, with importance placed on meeting the family's wishes. They may be held at a church, a funeral home, or graveside. The body may or may not be present for the ceremony. Most Protestant services include prayers, music, eulogy, a sermon and Biblical scripture readings. They celebrate the life of the deceased and often emphasize the Christian belief in everlasting life. The whole congregation or those particularly close to the family may attend services. The body of the deceased is committed according to the family's wishes and the chosen disposition method. A gathering where food is served is usually hosted at the church or in the home of a friend or family member, and it typically occurs after the committal service.

Japanese Customs
Like many other Asiatic countries, Japan has a variety of religious beliefs and sacred rituals. Cremation is almost universally practiced in Japan, where the most prevalent religion is an overlapping of Buddhism and Shinto. Buddhism emphasizes the spirit, teaches reincarnation, and considers the body to be a shell. Shinto is the ancient native religion of Japan and is now primarily ceremonial.

Buddhists often hold a funeral service marked by chanting and incense, with the body present, in a Buddhist temple or mortuary/crematory chapel. Post-funeral services are a common practice and are held at the temple or the family's home one and more weeks after the death. The Buddhist Priest presides over nearly all afterlife matters.

Following cremation it is customary for the family to perform the "honorable bone-gathering" duty, when they receive the ashes in an urn at the crematory and take them home. After one week, the ashes are typically taken to a temple or are buried in the family cemetery plot. This act is ceremonious, and it includes proper preparation of the gravesite and installation of an honorable marker or tombstone. Ancestral tablets are kept as household shrines in remembrance of those who have passed.

Chinese Customs
Chinese beliefs regarding death are derived largely from their religion, which is a mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Shamanism. The Chinese belief in a duality of the soul is of great importance, and involves the positive primary soul, Shen, and the negative secondary soul, Kwei.

In rural China, the wealthy are buried in the clan burial plot. Cemeteries for multiple burials, similar to those in the United States, only exist around larger Chinese cities. Poor rural Chinese are buried in or on the soil upon which they labored. If a grave is not dug, the casket is placed on the earth, and a mound of straw, bricks, concrete, or clay is built as covering.

Conducting Military Funerals and Memorials

FUNERALS WITH A CHAPEL SERVICE.

The funeral service with a chapel service is followed by a procession to the place of disposition with the prescribed escort. When the funeral is held in a military chapel, the chaplain will consult local procedures for guidance in arranging the funeral. The word "chapel" is interpreted to include church, synagogue, home or other place where services are held, other than the grave site. A military funeral may contain some of the following elements. However, directions for a full military funeral apply to all military funerals. A full military funeral includes: a band, an escort appropriate to the grade of the deceased, and may include a firing squad, bugler, the colors(flags), hearse or caisson, and active and honorary pallbearers.

Uniforms and Vestments. Because arms should not be carried in the sanctuary of a chapel, church or synagogue, soldiers will wear empty pistol belts. Doing so fulfills the requirements of being under arms while also showing respect for the sanctuary. The chaplain uncovers both inside and outside the chapel if in vestments, unless liturgical headdress is worn. The chaplain in uniform uncovers inside the chapel and covers outside the chapel. All personnel except active pallbearers follow the example of the chaplain in uniform.

Seating Family Members. Before the casket is taken into the chapel the family, relatives, and friends should be asked to enter the chapel. ("Casket" is interpreted to include the receptacle which contains remains.) The family may be seated in the right front pews.

Arrival of the Casket. The funeral escort forms a line facing the chapel before the service begins. The hearse or conveyance bearing the remains should arrive at the chapel a few moments before the time set for the service. The chaplain will be in position at the curb or chapel door. Since the casket is normally covered by the flag, the escort is called to attention. The escort commander salutes as the conveyance passes. The chaplain salutes in unison with the escort commander and the officer in charge, usually at the latter's signal. If in vestments, the chaplain stands at attention. When all is in readiness to move the casket into the chapel, the commander brings the escort to present arms.

Entrance into the Chapel. The casket is moved from the conveyance by the active pallbearers into the chapel. THE CASKET IS MOVED FEET FIRST AT ALL TIMES. The only exception to this is deceased clergy. Deceased clergy are moved head first at all times. When honorary pallbearers are present, they form two ranks, each facing the other, creating an aisle from the conveyance to the entrance of the chapel. The casket is carried between the ranks of honorary pallbearers, who uncover or salute.

Times to Render the Hand Salute. At a military funeral, military personnel in uniform, in their individual capacity, face the casket (which is covered by the flag) and render the hand salute at the following times: when honors are sounded; whenever the casket is being moved (the exception being when they themselves are moving); during the firing of the volleys; and while taps is played. Honorary pallbearers in uniform will do the same when not in motion.,

Military Personnel in Civilian Clothing. Military personnel in civilian clothing in the above cases, and during the service at the grave, stand at attention, hold their hats over the left side of the chest. If no hat is worn, the right hand is held over the heart. This applies to non-military persons also.

Positions Inside the Chapel. When the casket has been placed on the church truck, two of the active pallbearers push the truck to the front of the chapel while the others move to the narthex and await the conclusion of the worship service. The chaplain precedes the casket and takes his/her place in front of the altar. If there is no church truck, the active pallbearers carry the casket to the front of the chapel and position it as instructed by the chaplain before the service. As the casket passes them, the honorary pallbearers follow the casket in columns of two. They then occupy the pews to the left front of the chapel. If the active pallbearers are friends selected by the family, they may occupy the pews to the left front of the chapel.

Exiting the Chapel. After the service, the funeral director or usher comes forward and signals the honorary pallbearers to take their positions outside the chapel. The honorary pallbearers again form an aisle from the entrance of the chapel to the hearse and uncover or salute. The chaplain moves to the end of the casket and faces the casket. The ushers/pallbearers turn the casket around. The chaplain turns and leads the procession from the chapel. When a church truck is used the chaplain stops in the narthex, turns and faces the casket. This allows the pallbearers to get into position and the ushers to remove the church truck and replace the flag (if a funeral pall had been used) prior to moving the casket to the front of the chapel.

Changing Vestments. The chaplain turns and leads the procession out of the chapel. The family group follows the casket. Outside the chapel the chaplain resumes his/her original position at the chapel door or curb, stands at attention, and renders the hand salute until the casket has been placed into the conveyance. If the chaplain wants to change from vestments, the change may be made after the procession to the conveyance.

Forming the Procession. The funeral party repeats the procedure prescribed for entering the chapel. The casket is taken to the conveyance. The active and honorary pallbearers go to their cars. The family members are led to their cars. In the event of a vehicle procession, local custom will dictate the order of the procession.

FUNERALS WITH A GRAVESIDE SERVICE.
Predesignated Positions. As the procession approaches the grave, the military elements move directly to their predesignated positions. The firing party stands so that it does not fire directly over the mourners, but over the grave in view of the next of kin. The chaplain is met at the cemetery by either the cemetery representative, the funeral director or the officer in charge. They take their positions at the curb and the hearse stops just beyond them. As the flag-draped casket passes, military participants salute.

Arrival of the Hearse. As soon as the hearse stops, the honorary pallbearers form two ranks, creating an aisle which extends from the conveyance toward the grave. The active pallbearers remove the casket from the conveyance. The chaplain stands to the side rear facing the conveyance while the remains are transferred. The chaplain and the officer in charge salute while the casket is removed from the hearse. Ordering arms the chaplain moves to the front of the casket.

Movement of the Casket to the Grave Site. The chaplain and the cemetery representative or funeral director precede the casket as the pallbearers carry it between the ranks of the honorary pallbearers. As soon as the casket has passed, the honorary pallbearers follow the casket. They are followed by the family and friends.

At the Grave Site. If the seating arrangement allows, the casket should be placed in front of the family with the head (stars on the flag) to the left as in the chapel service. Taking a position near the head of the grave the chaplain salutes again until the casket is in place. At the grave site the chaplain in uniform has the option of wearing a head covering. If the chaplain removes the head covering, all others in uniform, except ceremonial elements, should remove their head covers. When the officiating chaplain wears a Jewish skull cap, all personnel remain covered. The active pallbearers, upon reaching the grave, place the casket on the lowering device. They remain in place facing the casket. They raise the flag from the casket and hold it in a horizontal position, waist high, until the conclusion of taps.

The Service. The graveside service is left to the discretion of the officiating chaplain. At the conclusion of the service the chaplain moves two steps to the side or rear.

Following the Service. The chaplain should warn the family that the volleys will be fired. The volleys are fired, taps sounded, the flag is folded and presented to the next of kin. "This flag is presented to you on behalf of a grateful nation as a token of our appreciation for the honorable and faithful service rendered by your loved one." The chaplain, cemetery representative or funeral director may then conclude the service.

FUNERAL SERVICE VARIATIONS - CREMATION
For all phases of the funeral, where the receptacle holding the cremated remains is carried by hand, one pallbearer will carry the receptacle and another will carry the flag, folded into the shape if a cocked hat. The pallbearer carrying the flag is positioned to the right of the remains. The receptacle is loaded and unloaded before the flag. While the receptacle is carried from the conveyance into and from the chapel back to the conveyance the two pallbearers are the only participants in the ceremony. During the procession to the grave site the two pallbearers are followed by four additional pallbearers. The receptacle and flag are placed side by side at the front of the chapel and in the conveyance transporting them to the grave site. If the two pallbearers are to walk to the grave site, they join the four pallbearers who are pre-positioned on either side of the conveyance. Where the remains are conducted to a crematory, the cremated remains to be interred with military honors at a later time, the ceremony consists only of the escort to the crematory. Arms are presented as the remains are borne into the crematory. The firing of volleys and sounding of taps are omitted. Where the funeral ceremony is held at the crematory and no further honors are anticipated, the volleys are fired and taps sounded.

FUNERAL SERVICES WITH FRATERNAL/SORORAL OR PATRIOTIC ORGANIZATIONS.
If the immediate family of the deceased or its representative so requests, organizations of which the deceased was a member may be permitted to take part in the funeral service at the chapel or grave site. Under no circumstances will the organizations override the chaplain's denominational practices. Organizations wishing to conduct services at the grave site may do so, following the playing of taps, at the conclusion of the military portion of the ceremony. Upon request, the military firing squad and bugler may be used for such services when a chaplain is not present. It is impossible to anticipate or describe all settings or circumstances in which military funerals may be held. When changes from these guidelines are necessary, those responsible for them should keep in mind the meaning of the service and its significance in meeting the needs of the mourners. All variations will exemplify the dignity and honor rendered in a full military funeral.

Condensed from: US Army Field Manual 16 - 22 "Conducting Military Funerals and Memorials."

Prepared by: David R. Farr

Chaplain (LTC), USA(Ret)
Staff Chaplain, Olinger Mortuaries, Denver, CO