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Regional funeral differences

Regional traditions still live on across the UK:

Each funeral should be like that individual, unique in both concept and creation, from the traditional to the contemporary, or indeed a unique blend of
both.

  • In some areas of Scotland, cords are used to lower the coffin into the ground.
  • In parts of Wales, families pin cards to lampposts to announce deaths.
  • In Northern Ireland, the coffin is passed from hand to hand, called the “lifts”.

England has less regional customs but people in England do tend to wait longer between the death and the funeral. Some old customs also remain, such as placing rosemary (the traditional herb of remembrance) on the coffin itself, or at the graveside.

 

For further information on changing funeral trends you can view or download The Ways We Say Goodbye booklet online.

If you use access technology to view PDF documents, go to the access.adobe.com (opens in new window) site which provides information and tools. An online PDF conversion tool can be found at online conversion tools for Adobe PDF documents (opens in new window)


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