Why mourning dress is black in Europe?

Why mourning dress is black in Europe?

PROF WAQAR HUSSAIN

   
      The custom of wearing black dress for mourning dates back to the Roman Empire when the toga pulla made of dark coloured wool was worn during mourning. However, it became significant practice during Victorian age.


            

        Alexandrina Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1876.She was also Empress of India. She reigned for 63 year and is the longest reigning monarch and the longest reigning queen regnant in world history. Her husband Albert died in 1861 due to typhoid fever. His demise devastated Victoria and entered into state of mourning and wore black for the rest of his life. She avoided from public appearance and rarely entered in London. Due to her seclusion, she used to be called “Widow of Windsor.” This is how, Victoria set an example and it became customary and almost mandatory for bereaved families to undergo set of rituals to observe mourning of their deceased ones. The

rituals included wearing of mourning clothes, having expensive funeral, cutting off social relation for a certain period of time, and building a sophisticated monument on the grave, etc. The wearing of mourning dress was family’s manifestation of their grief. Even manuals were published to give guidance to general masses about death rituals.  Mourning etiquettes were laid down to be followed. For example, if your second cousin died and you wanted to know what sort of mourning clothes you should wear and for how long. All these instructions and guidance were recorded in The Queen or Cassell’s or other manuals. For deepest mourning; clothes were to be black, symbolic of spiritual darkness. This is how mourning dress was classified black. For happiness of marriage Victoria chose white colour and for grief she went for an opposite of white; that is black.Shakespeare said: “We mourn in black”