Dressed for eternity: Memory rituals and burial attire in contemporary Denmark

Abstract

In Denmark, preparing the deceased for the funeral is almost entirely left to professionals. In most cases, next of kin say their final goodbyes at the site of the death. Only an estimated 20 per cent view the deceased after they have been prepared for the funeral. Death is widely considered a taboo, something difficult and even inappropriate to talk about. An estimated 80 per cent of Danes die in an institution either at a hospital, hospice or nursing home. The institutionalization of death, culture of individualism and absence of shared faith have diffused rituals regarding death in Denmark. There are hardly any formalized rituals for the relatives to engage with in the liminal space between the time of death and the funeral. The hypothesis of the article is that the choice of burial dress either as an individual, a family or institution holds further potential for making the transition from death to funeral more meaningful in contributing to the narratives of a person’s life. It requires a transference of symbolic meaning to a material object, mainly the final outfit. In this context, funeral attire becomes a material bridge between death and the beyond. Due to the intimate nature of the dress, the selection involves sharing the person’s life stories, values and preferences. As a ritual, the process may provide the bereaved with agency at a moment when they often feel paralysed. The chosen objects are transient, being part of the coffin ensemble, but hold lasting symbolic meaning as a visual biography for the loved ones to share. The article is based on case studies of the practices of selecting burial clothes with a hospice, two funeral homes, a nursing home and a priest in the period 2019‐21, with a gap in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.