Customs: Funerals in US and UK

A funeral is a ceremony, usually religious, of burying or burning a dead person. In the US and the UK, funerals usually take place in a church., or in a chapel (= small church). The coffin (= a special box that holds the dead person) is brought to the church in a special black car called a hearse. The relatives and friends of of the dead person usually follow the hearse in other black cars.
At some funerals in the US, the coffin is open and people look at the dead person before the funeral service starts. In the UK the coffin is always closed. The funeral service usually includes music and prayers, and someone usually says a eulogy (= a speech about the dead person and their good qualities).
After the funeral service, the body is either buried in a cemetery, or cremated (= burned) in a special building called a crematorium. If the person is buried, there is usually a short ceremony beside the grave, and someone traditionally throws a handful of earth into the grave. If the body is cremated, the ashes are given to the family, who scatter them in a pleasant place.
People usually wear black clothes to a funeral, and they usually send flowers that are put around the coffin during the funeral service. After the funeral, family and friends often get together to have food and drink and talk about the person who has died.