You may think that black clothes are preferred in funeral ceremonies because that color evokes evil, death and darkness. While this is partially true, it is not the only reason.
Black is a color that absorbs light and all colors. strength, passion, nobility, solitude, while symbolizing mystery, sobriety and balance; sometimes it is the color of escape, loss or rebellion.
Today, with all the color of funeral rites became. In the funerals you attend or witness, you will see that people generally prefer dark colors and most of the time they prefer black clothes.
There are also cultures that prefer colors such as white, yellow and red for their funeral ceremonies.
Some of them are as follows: In India and China The color white is believed to represent purity, Therefore, white color is preferred in funeral and mourning ceremonies. In the Republic of South Africa and Ghana, the color red is preferred for funerals and mourning ceremonies. In addition, purple in Thailand, yellow in Myanmar and finally blue in Iran are preferred.
Let’s travel a bit in history to understand the reason why black color is preferred in funerals.
In the Roman Empire, royal families wore dark robes when mourning. When we came to the Middle Ages, the church clarified it as the color black and made it mandatory. The common belief in churches at that time that black color expels evil spirits and demons.
Giving color to clothes black paint is expensive Ordinary people could not buy and wear these clothes. Another reason why ordinary people could not choose the color in question was that they were forbidden to imitate aristocrats. Therefore, only high-status people, namely royalty and aristocrats, could wear these colors.
Funeral influencer Queen Victoria may have made it fashionable.
When we come to a little more recent history, after the death of Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert. 40 years of mourning we welcome. After the death of her husband, the queen gradually wore black clothes during her 40-year mourning, which gradually came into fashion. Widowed women started to wear black between 6 months and 1 year.
After the Industrial Revolution With the development of paint workshops, paint became cheaper to produce. Especially in the 1900s, black clothes could now be mass-produced and were accessible to everyone. The reflection of this on funeral ceremonies is that ordinary people can now wear clothes of this color at funerals and while mourning.
Of course, at that time magazines It may have triggered it a little. In the magazines, everything from the clothes that a person should wear at the funeral to how the funeral should be done was explained in detail.