07/27/2026
Many of these traditions around a death in the family carried on into the 20th Century. Many funerals took place on Sunday because the families could not afford to lose a day of work. Processions would leave the home by horse drawn carriage or often on foot to the cemetery if the family were of modest means. Women and children were often not permitted to attend a graveside services. Can you imagine walking the three miles from Gananoque as part of a funeral cortège?
👀 Did you know.....
👀 Long before modern funeral homes and embalming became commonplace, saying goodbye to the dead was a much more personal, and longer affair.
Many of the customs we recognise today, actually began for very practical reasons.
👀 The tradition of holding a wake originally served as a safeguard against one of humanity's greatest fears... being buried alive.
Although genuine cases were rare, illnesses such as cholera, typhus and certain forms of coma could leave a person appearing lifeless.
Families would therefore keep the body at home for three to four days before burial, watching for any sign of life.
The extended wait also allowed relatives travelling long distances enough time to arrive and pay their final respects.
👀 Mirrors were often covered after a death.
In many Victorian homes, every mirror would be draped with black cloth, or turned to face the wall after someone died.
There were several reasons for this tradition.
Some believed a mirror could trap the soul of the deceased, preventing it from moving on.
Others feared that if a mourner saw their own reflection in a room with the dead, they would be the next person to die.
For some families, covering the mirrors was simply a mark of respect, removing symbols of vanity while the household was in mourning.
👀 Clocks were often stopped at the exact moment someone died, symbolising that time had stood still for the deceased 🕰️
In some homes, the clock wasn't restarted until after the funeral.
👀 Black crepe was tied to the front door to let neighbours know there had been a death in the household.
The size of the ribbon could even indicate whether the deceased was an adult or a child 🖤
👀 Funerals were mostly held in the home of the deceased.
Rather than just for friends and family, they were open to the public.
The body would usually be displayed in the front parlour, and sometimes in the loved one's bedroom.
As news of the death spread, people would stop by the house to pay their respects, often bringing plates of food, homemade pies and cake 🥧 🍰
In many communities, holding the funeral at home was seen as a final act of love and respect.
Funeral parlours only became commonplace towards the end of the nineteenth century, and into the early twentieth century.
👀 Candles 🕯️ and flowers 🌹 weren't just decorative...
Before refrigeration and modern embalming, preserving a body was extremely difficult.
Fresh flowers, herbs, perfumes and dozens of burning candles helped disguise the natural odours that developed during the days the deceased remained in the family home.
👀 The dead were often carried from the house feet first 🦶
Across Britain, Europe and America, it was widely believed that if the deceased left head first, their spirit might look back into the house and beckon another family member to follow them in death.
Whether superstition or comfort, the custom became deeply rooted and survives in many places even today.
👀 Not everyone was buried in a coffin ⚰️
Although wooden coffins became increasingly common during the Victorian period, poorer families sometimes wrapped their loved ones in a winding sheet.
This was a linen or woollen cloth, often waxed to help protect the body.
These shrouds were frequently sewn by female relatives or close friends, making them one final gift of care before burial.
👀 The 'sin eater'.
In parts of Britain and Wales, a poor person was sometimes paid to eat bread placed on the deceased's chest.
It was believed the bread absorbed the dead person's sins, leaving their soul free to enter Heaven.
Whether people truly believed it worked or simply found comfort in the ritual, it remains one of history's most unusual funeral customs.
👀 Coins were sometimes placed on the eyes of the deceased 🪙
This custom dates back to Ancient Greece and Rome - where coins were placed on or in the mouth of the dead as payment for Charon, the mythical ferryman who carried souls across the River Styx to the underworld.
In later centuries, coins were sometimes laid over the eyes, not as payment, but for a more practical reason. They helped keep the eyelids closed until rigor mortis set in and the body could be prepared for burial.
By the Victorian era, this practice was far less common in Britain, although some families still placed coins or other small weights over the eyelids for this practical purpose.
👀 Perhaps the most touching thing of all, was that no family was expected to grieve alone.
Neighbours cooked meals, friends sat through the night with the deceased, children carried flowers, and entire communities gathered to support those left behind.
Many of the old customs may have disappeared, but the simple act of coming together in times of loss, is one tradition that has stayed with us 🌹
Our Group
The Tudor Intruders (and more)
👀 Source - Vintage History.
