The role of flowers in the personalization of Christian funerals in Denmark

Flowers are a common element in Danish funerals. Drawing on fieldnotes, interviews and survey data on funeral practices in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark as well as theories of ritualization, meaning-making and practices, this article shows that flowers are not only a sine qua non in the...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Reintoft Christensen, Henrik (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: [publisher not identified] 2023
In: Approaching religion
Year: 2023, Volume: 13, Issue: 1, Pages: 90-104
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Danske folkekirke / Flower / Funeral / Personalization / Symbol / Interpersonal relationship / History 2018-2019
IxTheo Classification:KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history
KBE Northern Europe; Scandinavia
KDD Protestant Church
RB Church office; congregation
ZB Sociology
Further subjects:B flowers
B Rituals
B Funerals
B death practices
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:Flowers are a common element in Danish funerals. Drawing on fieldnotes, interviews and survey data on funeral practices in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark as well as theories of ritualization, meaning-making and practices, this article shows that flowers are not only a sine qua non in the funerals but are also used to make them more personal and to produce and reproduce social relations. Additionally, flowers are material objects and acquire their social meaning in the right ceremonial context. Outside this context they have no inherent meaning and might even obstruct the ceremony because, as physical objects, they have to be put somewhere in ceremonial space. Paradoxically, flowers are ubiquitous yet invisible.
ISSN:1799-3121
Contains:Enthalten in: Approaching religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.30664/ar.121444