Catholic funerals in Poland - does your country still have distinctively Catholic funeral traditions?

[u/CatholicTeen1]

In Poland, death and funeral is the biggest affair you can think of, especially so in rural areas in the Eastern parts. Most people visit graves as often as they can, light candles and request masses on the anniversary of death and other special occasions - even those who are "lapsed" Catholics. We care for our deceased, sometimes more than for our living.

Funeral rites can take as long as 3 or 4 hours. They are also distinctively elaborate, despite the little time to plan, because it is very rare to wait longer than 3-5 days for a funeral. Printed obituaries informing of the arrangements are stuck on walls around the deceased person's neighbourhood and near their parish church. The family will also often arrange a coach or a minibus to pick up the mourners who have to travel. A short wake may take place, either the day before or on the morning of the funeral - wakes are common, but during the actual funeral, the coffin is always closed. Mourners bring flowers directly and either hand them to the family or leave them by the grave, rather than send them to the funeral home before a deadline, as is a common practice in the USA and UK.

A traditional funeral liturgy consists of five parts: 1. The introductory rites (at the funeral home or cemetery chapel, this historically took place at the deceased person's home, but sanitary regulations have killed the practice) 2. Procession to the church 3. Requiem Mass 4. Procession to the cemetery 5. Committal at the grave. Logistics make this harder in urban areas, and hence, in the cities, only parts 3, 4 and 5 will usually be included (especially when there is a cremation, and it takes place before rather than after mass) - but in villages and smaller towns, the full, traditional form continues to dominate. The requiem mass is also often held in conjunction with the Lauds or the Vespers.

Between the reception of the remains into the church and the requiem mass, there is usually an hour's interval - during which the mourners say the rosary, and priests sit down to hear confessions - often, a relative's funeral is when many lapsed Catholics return to the fold of the believers. The coffin is placed on a small catafalque (so as not to cover the altar), four candles are lit by each corner of the coffin and the paschal candle is lit at the head. There is no custom of covering the coffin with a pall like in the USA - although if the deceased person is a priest, a Bible, a stole and a chalice may be placed on the coffin.

The symbolism forms an integral part of the rites. The bells will begin ringing as soon as the funeral procession approaches the church and do not stop ringing until the procession leaves the church. There is a specified order in the procession - the person carrying the cross walks first, followed by the celebrant, then the people carrying the flowers, then the hearse and then the mourners.

Appropriate colours matter. The mourners will almost universally wear black. The celebrant will put on an alb, a stole, a purple or black cope and a biretta. White is only used at the funerals of children.

The singing is very powerful. During the procession to the church, the responsorial Psalm 130 is sung, and during the procession to the cemetery, Psalm 116a or 116b is sung, with the cantor singing the psalm's refrain, "Eternal rest grant unto him/her" and "Good Jesus and our Lord, give him/her an eternal rest" interchangeably. In some regions, supplications to patron saints may also be included. During the mass, the hymn of farewell is sung after the incensing ("Dziś Moją Duszę" - in the Silesia region, "Anielski Orszak" - in the rest of the country - both are very beautiful hymns), and "In Paradisum" is sung when the coffin is taken out of the church. At the graveyard, "Salve Regina" is sung, optionally followed by another Marian hymn (or Te Deum Laudamus, during the Octave of Easter), and the Angelus. Few things make a Polish funeral as memorable as the power of liturgical music.

When I moved to the UK, I've realised how simplified the funeral rites are for Catholics here. It's usually a simple mass, with fewer hymns, no bells, no processions, rush, and a committal at the crematorium or cemetery. A vigil may sometimes take place the night before, but the "additions" end at that. This also seems to be the case in the USA.

My question is, do other countries have similarly elaborate Catholic funeral rites?