Fifty years ago, during our summer vacation at the family farm in Sweden, my great-grandmother Selma died at home.
My grandparents lived downstairs in that house, and my Great-grandmother upstairs.
I remember going up those stairs to visit her or bring her something.
My grandparents lived downstairs in that house, and my Great-grandmother upstairs.
I remember going up those stairs to visit her or bring her something.
When Great-grandmother Selma died, some old traditions came out:
Her body stayed in the house that first night after her death, and all of us living persons (grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and my mother, brother and I) should therefore not sleep in the house of a dead person. That night we all slept in the little house opposite the big house. For me, as a child this was like a summer camp for the whole clan!
Her body stayed in the house that first night after her death, and all of us living persons (grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and my mother, brother and I) should therefore not sleep in the house of a dead person. That night we all slept in the little house opposite the big house. For me, as a child this was like a summer camp for the whole clan!
Only my grandfather stayed in the big house.
The next day all the children were taken to a little house next to the lake. This house was called the Bathing House (perhaps hinting to some former function), but for us it was the Play House. We stayed there for hours, the atmosphere was special, because we knew Great-grandmother Selma had died and would be put in a coffin and brought out of the house during our absence.
I have been told that in this area, there used to be a tradition that when a person died at home and was put in a coffin to be transported to the chapel (where the deceased would be kept till the funeral about a week later), the family had a little ceremony at home: they read some religious texts and sung some psalms.
The next day all the children were taken to a little house next to the lake. This house was called the Bathing House (perhaps hinting to some former function), but for us it was the Play House. We stayed there for hours, the atmosphere was special, because we knew Great-grandmother Selma had died and would be put in a coffin and brought out of the house during our absence.
I have been told that in this area, there used to be a tradition that when a person died at home and was put in a coffin to be transported to the chapel (where the deceased would be kept till the funeral about a week later), the family had a little ceremony at home: they read some religious texts and sung some psalms.
My mother said that this was not done for my Great-grandmother Selma. Probably this tradition was not so common any more then.
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