How the World Mourns Through Color
With cremations in Crawfordville, FL, you will most likely see black being worn by the family of the deceased and the mourners who join them for funeral or memorial services. Black has been used by the Western world to symbolize death and mourning since the Middle Ages.
However, it became institutionalized during the reign of Queen Victoria (England) during the 1800’s. Very detailed ways to mourn – as well as lengths of time to mourn (men had the shortest and women had the longest, drawn in stages of months and years) – were expected of respectable people (that mean they had wealth and position).
Women not only wore black clothing, but they also wore mourning bonnets and black veils across their faces for six months after the death of a spouse. Black jewelry, such as rings and brooches, also became popular during this period, because it was considered bad taste for mourners to wear any of their regular jewelry.
Gradually everyone in both England and America began wearing black as the color of mourning.
In eastern Asia, however, the color used to symbolize death and mourning is white, which is a symbol of rebirth and purity. Buddhism is the most common religion in this part of the world, and Buddhists believe that when people die, they are reincarnated to another life. Family members of the deceased wear white in hope that their loved ones will be born again.
During the 1500’s in France, white (deuil blanc) became the color of mourning for grief-stricken children and single women. This transitioned into a custom throughout Europe for reigning queens. Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587), began wearing white after she lost three immediate family members in the space of a year and a half.
Interestingly, although black became the symbol of deep mourning during Queen Victoria’s reign, she herself requested that she be buried with a white veil covering her face, that white horses draw her funeral carriage, and that a white pall cover her casket.
In South Africa, the color of death and mourning is red (a color that symbolizes happiness in China and is forbidden at Chinese funerals). Red has been chosen to represent all the blood that was shed during Apartheid. It is a color that represents honor and patriotism.
Red is everywhere in South African culture, including in their flags, because much blood was shed as native South Africans struggled to the death to break free of both English and Dutch colonists.
Purple, which represents spirituality, is used in several parts of the world to symbolize death and grief. In Guatemala, for example, men and boys don purple robes and hoods on Good Friday to signify grief and to remember the agony and pain of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion.
In Brazil, devout Catholics wear both black and purple to symbolize mourning the death of a loved one. If someone is not attending a funeral and they’re wearing purple in this country, they are seen as being disrespecting and bringing bad luck onto themselves.
Purple marks intimate sorrow in Thailand. It is reserved for only widows and widowers who are mourning the death of their spouses. Everyone else wears black.
For information about cremations in Crawfordville, FL, our caring and knowledgeable staff at Lifesong Funerals & Cremations is here to assist you. You can visit our funeral home at 20 S. Duval St., Quincy, FL 32351, or you can call us today at (850) 627-1111.
