Pandemic Wreaks Havoc With Ancient Balkan Funeral Traditions

Once huge funerals these days are mostly attended only by a small circle of close family members and friends, who have to observe social distancing measures.

The funeral processions are now done in the shortest time possible, and in some countries, police monitor the burials to make sure everyone obeys the rules.

The pandemic has also changed burial procedures. In some countries, infected people are now buried only in sealed metal coffins as opposed to old-style wooden caskets.

In Romania, a maximum of eight people may currently attend a burial ceremony and the traditional rituals before a burial are not now permitted. The mass for the soul of the deceased, for example, has to be held near the burial site, not in a chapel or church.

"Things have changed and we don't take the body home anymore," Ovidiu Bejenariu, owner of a funeral company from Suceava, in northeastern Romania, said.

"We go from the hospital straight to the cemetery. Most of the time, the police also come to monitor the burials to make sure the number of attendants does not exceed the limit," he told BIRN.

Only close relatives allowed to attend

Cemetery in Podgorica, Montenegro. Photo: BIRN

In North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Moldova, Serbia and Croatia, the number of people allowed to attend funerals has also been reduced to a minimum.

In most countries, funeral processions have been shortened, and, after each procession, the premises have to be disinfected. In Croatia, published obituaries must not contain any information on the place and time of the funeral, while music and candle delivery services are no longer organised either.

The Croatian state also recommends that "none of the participants...