The way we send each other off to the afterlife can vary depending on the culture. But generally, there are expectations for how guests should conduct themselves. It’s a very emotionally charged occasion, and behavior matters.
However, not everyone gets it. Recently, we came across of where people shared all the inappropriate things they’ve witnessed at funerals. From taking pictures with silly filters to playing obnoxious music, here are some of the most memorable stories. One person’s solemn tribute is another person’s “me time,” it seems.
Only somewhat inappropriate, but certainly the funniest thing…
It was a funeral for an uncle I was very distantly related to, and (this is happening in Greece, in the summer), the church is very full and incredibly hot, you can smell the sweat, there’s incense, the air isn’t circulating, and the priest is just going on and on – I don’t think I can describe how grim the situation was. Not totally unexpectedly therefore, just as the priest is getting to something particularly emotional, a man, an old colleague standing near the back, faints – he’s completely out. Now, this guy was very tall and rather broad, so not only was it a miracle that he didn’t take out the two tiny old ladies right in front of him, he was also really difficult to carry outside to get some air!
Somebody has the brilliant idea that the pallbearers (those people who carry the casket) should carry him, since they’ve practiced it and are reasonably strong. So everybody squeezes a bit tighter (nobody wants to leave the church, things just got interesting) to let them through. They pick him up, three on one side and three on the other, i.e. more or less as they would the casket, and start carrying him towards the door. Suddenly, this guy wakes up, turns his head several times, grasps what’s going on and who’s carrying him faster than anybody can respond, and immediately starts yelling “I’M ALIVE! I’M ALIVE! I’M ALIVEEEEEE!” At which point, one of the pallbearers laughs so hard that he drops what was thankfully a leg, and the others struggle to put him down in what is now a church absolutely exploding with laughter. The whole situation went on for a good fifteen minutes in which this guy walked outside and the priest tried to resume the service, but there absolutely continued to be giggles throughout – I, being a teenager at the time, also couldn’t possibly hold it back every time I thought of this guy yelling he’s alive!
Nobody was even particularly upset because the uncle we were burying was always laughing and joking around, so it somehow felt appropriate that we had a great laugh at his funeral.
