A Death Cafe is a scheduled non-profit get-together (called "social franchises" by the organizers) for the purpose of talking about

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

over food and drink, usually tea and cake. The idea originates with the Swiss sociologist and

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

Bernard Crettaz, who organized the first in 2004. Jon Underwood, a UK web developer, was inspired by Crettaz's work, introduced the death cafe to London in 2011, and launched the Death Cafe website. They have since been held in many countries.

Format and purpose

The Death Cafe is not a physical location but an event, usually lasting two hours. Usually there are a dozen participants, who are free to discuss their understanding, thoughts, dreams, fears and any other aspects of death and dying. Tea and cake assist with creating a nurturing and supportive environment. Some Death Cafes have specifically created an opportunity for health-care professionals to talk about death.Lizzy Miles and Charles A. Corr
"Death Cafe: What Is It and What We Can Learn From It"
''Omega'', October 29, 2015, pp. 6–7. Venues include homes and rented halls as well as restaurants and cafes;"'Death cafes' gaining popularity"

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

News, August 19, 2013.Nita Lelyveld
"Passing thoughts at L.A.'s first Death Cafe"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', April 15, 2013. a cemetery

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

"At these coffee klatches, death is on the agenda "
''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', October 21, 2013. and a

yurt A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger (Mongolian language, Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and Thermal insulation, insulated with Hide (skin), skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct Nomad, nomad ...

have also been used. The Death Cafe website created by Underwood states the purpose as "to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives". Facilitators have said that there is "a need among people to open hecloset"Deena Prichep
"Death Cafes Breathe Life Into Conversations About Dying"

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, March 8, 2013. into which death, the "last taboo", has been placed,Gary Singh, "Expiration Date," Silicon Alleys, ''

Metro Silicon Valley ''Metro'', also known as ''Metro Silicon Valley'', is a free weekly newspaper published by the San Jose, California-based Weeklys media group for four decades, a period during which its readership area became known as Silicon Valley. Metro was ...

'', July 23, 2014. to reduce fear and enable people to live more fully. Crettaz said that his aim was to break the "tyrannical secrecy" surrounding the topic of death, and that at these gatherings, "the assembled company, for a moment, and thanks to death, is born into authenticity." Underwood said that "we have lost control of one of the most significant events we ever have to face."Eleanor Tucker
"What on earth is a death cafe?"
Family, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', March 21, 2014. Death Cafes have helped to relax the taboo of speaking about death, particularly with strangers, and encouraged people to express their own wishes for after they die. The open-ended discussions also provide an avenue to express thoughts about one's own life stirred up by the death of a family member. According to one commentator, Crettaz wanted to revive the pagan tradition of the funeral feast, "where the living would renew their bonds while letting go of what weighed on their hearts".

History

Crettaz organized the first in 2004 in

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

Karen Schärer
"Die Todes-Café: Wenn man sich im Restaurant trifft, um über den Tod zu plaudern"
''

Aargauer Zeitung ''Aargauer Zeitung'' (English: ''Aargauer Newspaper'') is a Swiss German-language daily newspaper, published by AZ Medien Gruppe, Aarau, Aargau. History and operations ''Aagauer Zeitung'' was created in 1996 through the merger of the '' Aa ...

'', December 3, 2013, archived fro
the original
on October 23, 2015 . and in 2010 brought the idea to Paris. He published a book titled ''Cafés Mortels: Sortir la Mort du Silence'' (Death Cafes: Bringing Death out of Silence).Molly Guinness

''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', November 1, 2010. In 2011, inspired by Crettaz and with his guidance, Underwood held the first London Death Cafe at his home. He subsequently developed the Death Cafe website, generating guidelines with his mother, psychotherapist Susan Barsky Reid, and the concept took off globally.Helen Carter
"Death Cafe: Discussing mortality over tea and cake"

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, January 31, 2014."Sunday, 15 December 2013: Death Cafe"
Spiritual Outlook,

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand (), commonly known as RNZ or Radio NZ, is a New Zealand public service broadcaster and Crown entity. Established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995, it operates news and current affairs station, RNZ National, and a classi ...

National, retrieved July 24, 2014. The first US event was organized by Lizzy Miles, a

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...

worker, in summer 2012 near

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

.Paula Span
"Death Be Not Decaffeinated: Over Cup, Groups Face Taboo"
The New Old Age, blogs, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', June 26, 2013.Janice Lloyd
"'Death cafes' normalize a difficult, not morbid, topic"
''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', April 7, 2013.Jaweed Kaleem
"Death Cafes Grow As Places To Discuss, Learn About End Of Life"
''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

'', February 4, 2013. By June 2014, the idea had spread to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

,Christy Choi
"At Hong Kong's Death Cafe, it is love and life that is on the menu"
''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

'', June 15, 2014. and it was subsequently popularized in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

by a non-profit organization that provides

services to cancer patients. In February 2013, a Death Cafe in London was filmed."Tea and mortality; the rise of Death Cafés"
''Dying Matters'', February 12, 2013. ''Café Totentanz'' or ''Totentanz-Café'' is used in German-speaking areas.Sascha Stienen
"Im Totentanz-Café"
Katholisch.de, May 12, 2013. Underwood died in June 2017; Death Cafe has since been run by his mother, his sister Jools Barsky, and his wife Donna Molloy. After hosting a Death Café in

Perth, Scotland Perth (; ) is a centrally located Cities of Scotland, Scottish city, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and is the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population of about ...

, counsellor and social entrepreneur Rachel Weiss was inspired to use the model for talking about

menopause Menopause, also known as the climacteric, is the time when Menstruation, menstrual periods permanently stop, marking the end of the Human reproduction, reproductive stage for the female human. It typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 5 ...

. Weiss hosted the first Menopause Café in 2017 in Perth and there are now cafés across the world.

References

External links

deathcafe.comTotentanz Café.de
{{Death Death customs Social phenomena Death-related organizations

Format and purpose

History

References

Further reading

External links