![]() ![]() ![]() I think Danish people are very much blunter and more straightforward, well, my mum is anyway.” “She sort of shrugged her shoulders and said yes. On her mum’s reaction to the idea, Anne-Marie said: “She felt a bit freaked out, to begin with, and jokingly asked if she should be worried. I have a lot to be proud of because of my mum, and I wanted her to hear my love for her when she’s alive.” “It was a light bulb moment for me because I hadn’t actually looked up anything to do with living funerals at that point, I didn’t know anything about it, but I asked her if she wanted to have a celebration here. My mum lives with us and we got into the conversation about her funeral, and she said, ‘Please don’t do that for me, it’s a waste of money, I don’t need you to be telling me that when I’m dead’. She explained: “There are lots of lovely things being said about that person, but it can feel very cold, I guess because they’re not there. I specialise in Norse paganism – we do things like Viking re-enactment, so people get a bit weird, and it’s really good fun.”Īnne-Marie wanted her mum to hear the love she has for her while she is alive (Image: PA) “My ceremonies are pagan – my family is Danish and Swedish so it’s something I’ve always been a part of. “We know when the time comes when my mother is no longer with us, that she has heard how appreciated she is.” Anne-Marie, who became a celebrant in 2021, explained: “I had a celebrant when I got married to my husband, and I realised, actually, that I could do exactly what she was doing for the same money.” “It reminded us all that we don’t spend enough time with our family to actually get to know them and celebrate them – the day was a true celebration of mum,” Anne-Marie said. There were a “few tears” on the “magical” day: the celebration featured pagan references to Idun, the goddess of youth, Danish pastries and photo albums, and took place in Anne-Marie’s three-acre back garden with 20 of her mother’s loved ones sharing stories and their appreciation of her. Her mother, Mille, is currently in good health, though Anne-Marie fears her sight and hearing may soon decline but, in May 2023, Anne-Marie threw her first-ever, living funeral and held it for her mother as she “wanted her to hear (her) love for her when she’s alive”. Anne-Marie Vognsen, 56, who is of Danish and Swedish descent but lives in North Suffolk with her mother, Mille Millard, 85, decided to become a pagan celebrant, often hosting Viking re-enactments at weddings, in 2021.Īnne-Marie began to explore the idea of living funerals as part of her celebrant business Our Freya’s Day after she lost a close friend to cancer in December 2022 – which left her feeling funerals were “very cold” because the deceased cannot hear attendees’ kind words. A pagan celebrant has held a Viking-inspired living funeral for her mother, complete with Danish pastries, apple candles and references to Norse gods, after the sudden death of a close friend made her appreciate the “fragility of life” and inspired her to give her mum a “true celebration”. ![]()
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