Preparing for a Victorian Funeral: A Camosun College Project

In the late 1800's you were lucky to celebrate your 50th birthday, and sadly, many families experienced the death of young children. The Victorians had a complex and vivid set of rituals that guided their grief and mourning, shaped in great part by Britain's Queen Victoria, who mourned the death of her husband Prince Albert in extreme fashion for 40 years. 

You are invited to walk the streets of Old Town, circa 1900, where a member of the community has died and preparations are underway for a "proper" funeral. Join students from Camosun's Anthropology of Death class who will share the many aspects of these preparations, from the wake to post-mortem photography and cemetery headstones.

Explore how religious and cultural perspectives shape death, the many social messages of both the deceased and those left behind, and how the development of the death industry in the past century, with its many professionals, has changed the way we die and grieve.  

1:00 - 2:30 pm Interactive Student Stations in Old Town

2:30 - 3:30 pm Wake in Helmcken House