Southern USA Burial Customs

In small southern rural church cemeteries, there is a burial custom involving pall bearers that some might find a bit bizarre.

Typically, in America, being a pall bearer is an honorary position. The pall bearer is chosen to escort the final remains to the waiting hearse. Upon arrival at the cemetery, pall bearers are called upon to escort the casket to the burial site. Once this final tribute is accomplished, the task of the pall bearer has ended.

However, if the cemetery is one attached to small southern rural churches, the task is not over once the final resting place has been reached. In this situation, the pall bearers are expected to fill the grave in also. This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'I buried my grandfather today'.