A coffin in Paradise

With a colorful backdrop of plants, animals and naked men my Farmor's coffin stood adorned with her favorite flowers, red and pink roses. A long line of men and women dressed in black approached the coffin to say their final goodbyes to their mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Most of them with tears in their eyes, some with the hint of a smile, but all with a somewhat confused look on their face.

Farmor's funeral service was held in a small church in Ljungby. It's adorned with wall paintings by a famous local artist depicting Paradise in a vey playful way. You might even mistake it for the work of a child. Vibrant colors, monkeys the same size as elephants and polar bears next to kangaroos. At the very center is a semi-nude man (who I assume to be Jesus) in an oval shape (very much resembling the female gender) perched in an apple tree. There is also an anatomically correct stark naked man next to this tree who I assumed to be Adam (I kept looking around for Eve, but she was nowhere to be found). In front of all this stood the priest dressed in black, with a solemn look on his face, among bouquets of condoleances and a coffin made of oak.

This ambiguous atmosphere set the tone for the ceremony and the reception. It was a beautiful ceremony with a comical twist. A sad day with moments of laughter. A day of mourning Farmor but also to cherish the reunion of our family. It was good. And if Farmor looked down at us she would have had a great big smile on her face.