Funeral Feasts - was Re: SC - Marion Zimmer Bradley: MourningSong (FWD)

[Philip & Susan Troy]

LrdRas at aol.com wrote:
> 
> This is also a phenomenon in  North Central PA, at least in my family. The
> current custom is that each mourner brings a dish to pass (usually a
> casserole of some sort) so that the bereaved family does not have to deal
> with providing food to large numbers of well wishers and other concerned
> guests. The 'funeral' feast usually starts the day after death and continues
> until the departed is laid to rest with everyone gathering after the funeral
> at which point all the various food stuffs are laid out on a table for anyone
> to eat.

Okay, a further question about local custom, if I may. Some years ago, I
attended one of these shindigs (it may or may not have been
funeral-related, but it was a sort of semi-formal potluck occcasion
along those lines...). Anyway, it so happened that I was one of the few
people present who had actually grown up in the area (New York City)
with many of the rest of the people present coming from places like
upstate New York and various parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. At
the conclusion of this occasion several people who had, in fact, brought
casseroles of various kinds, proceeded to get up, poke around for things
like plastic wrap, and brought their half-eaten casseroles home with them.

At first I thought it was a matter of salvaging various utensils and
dishes, but I realized nobody was packing the actual food into other,
expendable containers to leave behind for the bereaved (or whomever, as
I say this was a while ago and I'm not certain it was a funeral). The
best (and only) explanation I got for this behavior was something like,
"It's customary..."

I remember thinking it both bizarre and not a little tacky, but if it is
some kind of regional folkway, I can't complain. Has anybody run across
anything like this before?
 
Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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