Why is black associated with grief?

A funeral is one of those rare occasions where you don’t really need to think too much about your choice of outfit. After all, everyone wears black to funerals as a sign of grief, don’t they? Well, that might be true in the Western world, but it’s not necessarily the case everywhere, which is what we’re going to talk about today.

 In the Western world, funeral customs have long been intertwined with strict dress codes. The tradition of "mourning attire" became widespread across Europe from the Middle Ages onwards, and was particularly stringent during the Victorian era in England. Queen Victoria herself mandated that widows wear black mourning attire, including jewellery, for at least a year. 

Has that always been the case? What about in other parts of the world then? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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