I went to a memorial service at my church this afternoon for a true Christian gentleman in the finest sense of the word. He had lived a long exemplary life esteemed by friends, family and his loving wife of more than 60 years. After the service we gathered in the fellowship hall to visit and exchange memories of Carl. The words "Funeral Collation" came to mind, so when I got home I researched the term to see if my memory had served me well. Here is an excerpt from a language blog examining the term:
"“Why is a funeral reception called a collation?”
I began to research the word and discovered that the primary use of the word (in today’s American English, anyway) is related to the act of collating. Collating is that function you perform when you gather up pages upon which you have been working and place them in the correct order. Maybe you staple them, or maybe they go into a folder, but the important thing is that they are in the correct sequence.
How strange, then, that the word collation is used to identify a small meal. In this case, it is a small meal offered as a social time for those who have attended a funeral. I suppose I can stretch my imagination a little and say that it is a “collecting together” of the people who, for any number of reasons, have come to attend a funeral. Some come for very personal, familial reasons; others because the deceased person was a colleague, neighbor, friend, or just a person of interest. Perhaps it is in the collation that this gets sorted out.
Traditionally, the close family stands in a receiving line, greeting those attending, and thanking them for coming. The more distant relatives are somewhere in the background, often being dragged over to the line to be introduced to an old nanny, school teacher, barber, or someone who played a significant role in the family’s life many years ago (and is unrecognizable today!)
Others gather in small groups according to their connection; some just stand alone. The collation is supposed to bind them into one group, although there is the frequent black sheep of the family who doesn’t want to stand with the family or interact with them. (Such gatherings are not always what they are cracked up to be!) But the point I would make is that there is some form of “sorting” taking place, much as in the act of collating papers into some order.
Collations are frequently hosted by a committee from the religious institution at which the funeral has been held. If there is a proper gathering hall, or formal living room at the facility, traditional collation foods are laid out and ready when the funeral ends. ... There can be great pride among the members of a congregation when a collation is successful and people experience hospitality."
To read the entire entry and other interesting essays on language, go to :
http://the-penultimate-word.com/ 
