The Celebration Box

The following is summarised from an article in Country Living (June '96) by Fraser Harrison.

Yvonne Malik is an honorary consultant of the Natural Death Centre and is listed in its literature as a coffin decorator, but when I went to see her in her cottage in Wray in the Lune valley, near Lancaster, she was keener to talk about her concept of the 'Celebration Box'. She showed me an example that had been put together using an old house-painter's box, a stout wooden case with a large metal handle and shallow, interlocking shelves.

'Every part of the box overflowed with photographs, keepsakes and small items'

It was dedicated to Lilian and Horace Parker and was filled with mementos of them, his on one side, hers on the other. Every part of the box overflowed with photographs, keepsakes and small items connected with the couple, from the jaunty cigarette holder of Horace's youth to a minute, beaded evening bag belonging to Lilian.

Thanks to the skill with which this miniature museum had been assembled, its bits and pieces radiated a surprising vitality, forming an unusual object that was both an obituary and a memorial. Yvonne says that the function of the celebration box (she intends to design a simpler version for sale) is to help people who are more at ease with non-verbal means of communicating.

"Filling something like a Celebration Box can be a shared family experience and a way of remembering. It is portable and easily accessible, and something we can do for ourselves, which will also be of later comfort to the bereaved." Despite her preoccupation with the funereal - she has already ordered her own coffin which she plans to decorate - Yvonne is good-humoured and far from morbid. She simply wants to assist those who have been prompted by loss, age, illness or, as in her case, a philosophical temperament, to make ready for death on their own terms.

A Celebration Box at the back of the church

Yvonne Malik

Here is a summary from Yvonne Malik's leaflet about the Celebration Box:

When a relative or close friend dies, we often find it impossible to find words to express our feelings. We remember special times, events and places which we shared together, or recall good deeds and kindnesses. These keys to our special memories have an intrinsic value only between ourselves and the one who has died.

Using the Celebration Box is an opportunity to express and focus on a new way of saying 'goodbye'. Each box becomes unique and special, giving us the satisfaction of having taken part in filling it, as well as the ultimate feeling of something shared. This is a new way of including family and friends in a non-verbal act of celebration and comfort - a celebration of the life and shared experiences with the deceased and a later comfort for the bereaved, as well as something to be treasured by the next generation.

Suggested items which have a private or intimate meaning and could be placed in the box include:

Photographs; postcards which reminds us of a special day together; letters, poems, thank-you notes; birthday cards; ticket from a concert which we shared, souvenir from a holiday; button from their favourite jacket, pair of earrings, pipe; copy of a team certificate, club badge, medal; special scarf or cap.

The events and times which we shared require no explanation from us and the tokens placed within the box are private statements. It is something which can be carried out by ourselves, alongside the traditional services of the funeral director.

'The Celebration Box can be filled at home prior to the funeral or placed in an accessible situation at the back of the church'

The Celebration Box can be filled at home prior to the funeral or placed in an accessible situation at the back of the church or chapel and brought home after the final ceremony.

Each Celebration Box is hand decorated and therefore differs from any other. It also has the advantage of being portable, to suit today's more transient lifestyle.

I have also worked out a flat pack design whereby it could be mass produced - on strong card which can be printed flat then folded.

If you might like to commission an individual Celebration Box, or to discuss helping to produce them in larger quantities, please contact Yvonne Malik, Sweet Briar Cottage, 52 Hornby Road, Wray, Lancashire LA2 8QN (tel 015242 21767).

This webpage forms part of the Global Ideas Bank (www.globalideasbank.org).

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