Day of the dead in modern Mexico [] Joseph Toone

Published October 16, 2022

by Joseph Toone

Attending a pal’s funeral this week I learned a bit more about Mexican funeral customs that I had somehow missed in previous ultimate masses (that is, funerals).

There is no Biblical or theological reason for the way coffins enter or exit church, rather the tradition is that they enter and exit feet first.  The coffin is carried in feet first symbolic of the fact that in life, the deceased faced the altar. The coffin is turned around at the end of Mass symbolizing the deceased leaving the church.

In a priest’s funeral the head points towards the altar, for when alive, the priest faced the people. At the end of Mass the coffin is not turned around, as the priest would already be in the proper position to exit the church as he did in life.

The only real exception is that of a baby’s death where the coffin (usually a small white casket) is carried in sideways by one individual – sometimes the priest, or the funeral director, or even, poignantly, the baby’s father.  He’ll continue to carry his baby’s coffin to the cemetery for burial as a very public expression of his grief.

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