First Catholic Funeral Questions

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Mikenamy01

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Hello all, sadly a good friend of mine has passed and I need to attend my first Catholic funeral. I plan on wearing my blck suit, but was unsure if there were specific guidelines or customs with respect to the Catholic faith on what to wear. Any advice would be helpful.

Thank you all.
 
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Mikenamy01:
Hello all, sadly a good friend of mine has passed and I need to attend my first Catholic funeral. I plan on wearing my blck suit, but was unsure if there were specific guidelines or customs with respect to the Catholic faith on what to wear. Any advice would be helpful.

Thank you all.
That attire is perfectly fine. Conservative suits in darker colors are what is commonly worn by men, both at the Funeral Home and at the Funeral Mass itself.
 
Thanks - someone told me that red was an appropriate/incouraged color to wear and I didn’t know if I was supposed to wear red in my tie or something. Sounded kinda strange to me as I’ve always considered red as specifically not a color to wear. Any truth to wearing red or should I correct my friend on their choice?
 
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Mikenamy01:
Thanks - someone told me that red was an appropriate/incouraged color to wear and I didn’t know if I was supposed to wear red in my tie or something. Sounded kinda strange to me as I’ve always considered red as specifically not a color to wear. Any truth to wearing red or should I correct my friend on their choice?
I’ve never heard anything about this. I would stick with what you’ve already decided to wear - it should be more than acceptable.
 
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Mikenamy01:
. Any truth to wearing red or should I correct my friend on their choice?
I never heard of the before in my life.

Now I don’t think I would wear a red shirt, and certainly not a red suit, 😉 but that is a matter of general bad fashion sense for the situation. I think most people frown on ‘loud’ at a funeral.

But having red in the tie, or even a red tie (unless it’s a bright shade) would not seem a problem to me at all.
 
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Mikenamy01:
Thanks - someone told me that red was an appropriate/incouraged color to wear and I didn’t know if I was supposed to wear red in my tie or something. Sounded kinda strange to me as I’ve always considered red as specifically not a color to wear. Any truth to wearing red or should I correct my friend on their choice?
Did you see “My Big Fat Greek Wedding?” Remember when Toula’s brothers told the groom how to say in Greek, “Let’s go into the house!”? Telling someone to wear red at a funeral would be the equivalent.

Wardrobe decorum at funerals is pretty loose these days, except maybe on Park Avenue. If you wear a black suit, you are likely to be dressed in deeper mourning than the principal mourners. It’s more a sociological thing than a religious thing.
 
The above posts are guiding you very well. However I wanted to just say something about colors in general. Liturgical colors have specific meaning. Black is an accepted funeral color representing the death and the sorrow along with purple. However white is seen in many Catholic funerals because it represents the Resurection. Which the person has now a fuller participation in.
 
Br. Rich SFO:
The above posts are guiding you very well. However I wanted to just say something about colors in general. Liturgical colors have specific meaning. Black is an accepted funeral color representing the death and the sorrow along with purple. However white is seen in many Catholic funerals because it represents the Resurection. Which the person has now a fuller participation in.
Isn’t that just the colour of the priest’s vestments not what the ordinary people wear.
 
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Mikenamy01:
Thanks - someone told me that red was an appropriate/incouraged color to wear and I didn’t know if I was supposed to wear red in my tie or something. Sounded kinda strange to me as I’ve always considered red as specifically not a color to wear. Any truth to wearing red or should I correct my friend on their choice?
In some Asian cultures, red is considered appropriate, but here, make it dark.
 
Detroit Sue:
In some Asian cultures, red is considered appropriate, but here, make it dark.
I think red is joyful in most Asian cultures. White is the Asian color for mourning - at least for the Vietnamese with whom I am familiar.
 
Br. Rich SFO:
The above posts are guiding you very well. However I wanted to just say something about colors in general. Liturgical colors have specific meaning. Black is an accepted funeral color representing the death and the sorrow along with purple. However white is seen in many Catholic funerals because it represents the Resurection. Which the person has now a fuller participation in.
Yes of course. I just noted that the original poster indicated that they were not Catholic. I just wanted them to understand why other colors might be seen in the priests vestments, that not everyone would be in black. Especially the casket which should be covered in white.
 
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mercygate:
Wardrobe decorum at funerals is pretty loose these days, except maybe on Park Avenue. If you wear a black suit, you are likely to be dressed in deeper mourning than the principal mourners. It’s more a sociological thing than a religious thing.
I agree. In my experience, the immediate family wears black, but other mourners wear anything “dark” from navy blue, to gray. But I’ve seen immediate family in non-black, and it’s not unusual to see other mourners in light suits, especially in the summer.

I went to an afternoon wedding last weekend and 98% of the men who wore suits wore black. It was a higher percentage than at most funerals I’ve attended. I wondered if it was an ethnic thing, or if men don’t wear suits anymore, so the one suit they own is black.
 
Joe Kelley:
I think red is joyful in most Asian cultures. White is the Asian color for mourning - at least for the Vietnamese with whom I am familiar.
You are absolutely right. Thanks. :o
 
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