A Funeral

In Russia you know someone has died in your apartment building because the casket cover is  displayed in the entrance of the apartment building.  Often times there is a photo of the deceased on the cover.

The body is displayed in the apartment of the deceased, and family and friends visit there.  A bus, or van is usually rented to carry the casket to the cemetery for the burial service.  If the deceased was Orthodox there will be a service for the dead at a local church, before the burial.

 

We on occasion see funeral processions like the one pictured here.  The body is removed from the apartment and carried to the vehicle which will transport it to the cemetery.  Sometimes there will be a brass band playing a funeral dirge.  In every case the casket is open during the procession.  Often evergreen branches are strewn in front of the mourners as they carry the casket