Stupid question here

Mike Boyer

Mike Boyer

ok...here is a stupid question are you guys ready ??......... when you put a casket in a coach at a funeral..... does the body go in head first or feet first ?????

I was just sitting here at work wondering
Its my birthday today....I have nothing else to think about today !!!

hmmmmmm
 
Mike Boyer said:
ok...here is a stupid question are you guys ready ??......... when you put a casket in a coach at a funeral..... does the body go in head first or feet first ?????

I was just sitting here at work wondering
Its my birthday today....I have nothing else to think about today !!!

hmmmmmm
Click to expand...

Feet first.
 
I cant remember 100% of the details why but I was once told feet first, so that when you remove the casket and walk toward the grave the head would be facing the right direction

just what I was told
 
Actually it's similar to walking. You walk feet first so you go feet first into the coach, into the church as you enter and leave, and as you are carried to the grave. When buried, the foot end of the casket lies towards the east so when God comes back to Earth to claim his children, the dead in Christ will rise and you will be facing God.

Some funeral director's don't take the time to keep this tradition intact but not in my funerals. We turn the casket in the chruch and bring them out feet first everytime. In Scottish tradition the body leaves feet first so the soul cannot find it's way back into the house. I assume this is how it got started.
 
Happy Birthday Mike !

happybirthday:dancing::thewave::dancing:

I don't know about the casket in hearse deal. Don't really think it matters.
They won't care ! LOL

I have a vintage coffin that is converted into a cooler. Lined with truck bed liner. When I take it to a party or event, I put it in head first as I like the way it looks with the wider end at the front of the car with it tapering back.
Coffins have 6 sides like the Dracula style.

Caskets are rectangle (4 sides) so its the same either way.

I asked the grave Digger how she buries people and she said feet to the East
or head to the tombstone.
That way they can watch the sun rise ! Well, not really watch it but you get the idea.


I am interested in knowing if there are actual "Policies" on either the hearse or grave.

Let's here from the funeral directors !

Darren
 
ok Richard... talking about the feet facing east.... are most cemetery's laid out facing east to west ? is that the reason ?
 
Richard

Just a little humor brother. Don't take it the wrong way.


Funerals are the worse thing anyone has to deal with in life and I have respect for them and the history. Losing someone you love isn't easy !
I have lost my father, Mother and Brother ! Believe me, I know !!!!!

By the way, I have a huge vintage funeral collection with most items dating between 1882-1920. Some up to the late '60s. Un-real what I have.

I will show you photos of the collection in Flint.


Take it easy,
Darren
 
A body is always carried or moved feet first. This wards off the evil spirits away from the deceased's head. As found in my text book "The History of Funeral Directing" used while I was in Mortuary school in the 70's.

Most cemeterys are set up with the graves east-west, but we have some here that are different.

Mike :respect:
 
Ok now I am really confused because I know for a fact my grandfather is buried feet toward the north, and great grandmother towards the south. I am sure it is up to the cemetary, but makes me go hmmmm

EDIT : other grandmother is west, guess I will have to be buried east to even us all out ;)
 
all of the cemeteries here in UT that i know of are the same everyones head is to the west and feet to the east and funeral homes keep it traditional here too feet go in the coach first.
 
also......

Rick is correct but there is more. If you do it correctly, everyone working the funeral or at the cemetery will know the orientation of the body based on how it came out of the car. this way the head is placed correctly on the lowering device. if you didn't maintain the load-feet-first tradition then it gets more complicated as you proceed with the burial.
 
When transport a casket that will be opened again in another one of our funeral homes or church, we go in head first. Just like riding in a school bus, the very back bounces more. We don't want the head to bounce, so it goes in first. When we load to go to a catholic funeral at a church, we load head first so we can carry out feet first into church. When we leave any church, we go out feet first, so the casket is loaded feet first. We bury at most cemeteries foot to the east. In short, it doesn't matter which way we load a hearse, but it does matter what way the casket goes into and out of a church (always feet first, except clergy which go in head first to face their "flock") and how the casket is placed in a cemetery (foot to the east).
 
When looking at the opening side of the casket, wouldn't the head always be on the left? I would think that this would be an easy way to know where the head end is located when the casket is closed.
 
If for no other reason just do it same all the time and you will know which end is which. We had a new guy one time at the funeral home that had his directors license when we found him but no idea how he got it cause he had no idea how to run things. He and I did a funeral together once and of course he loaded casket opposite from how we normally did and when we got in front of church to open for service casket was facing wrong so had to turn around. Lucky body was lying in state and not many people there yet to see our blunder. We didn't keep this guy very long. We always did feet first.
 
Mike

No question you want the answer too is a stupid question.
Wanting the answer and not asking the question to me is stupid.

We all learned something from the posts by the funeral directors in the club.

If we could learn something new everyday, everyone would be better off.


Paul

I have always seen the person in the casket with their head to the left like you mentioned. Lets see what replies you get regarding that.



Darren
 
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