More Dutch go to drinks and bitterballen at funerals

At your local pavement cafe or funeral. Photo: deposit photos

The Dutch are increasingly opting for more ‘intimate and informal’ funerals, with traditional coffee and cake replacing drinks and bitterballen. investigation Uitvaartverzekeringswijzer, a comparison site by funeral insurance companies.

The traditional Dutch post-funeral staple of coffee and a usually indifferent slice of cake is becoming a thing of the past, with 73% of respondents wanting an informal service, compared to 69% in 2019. I’m in

Research shows that while toasts before death are becoming a common funeral feature in most states, people in Groningen still appreciate a glass of ‘trost’ (consolation). most preferred an open coffin (48%).

Places are also moving away from the traditional, with churches being replaced by bars, boats, beaches and even discotheques. Nearly 90% of respondents wanted an informal funeral, while in Friesland more than half preferred a more formal funeral.

Surveys show that more and more Dutch people still prefer cremation to burial for reasons of cost and grave maintenance, with 77% of people choosing a crematorium.

Other trends in the funeral world include: wild burial and sustainable coffin of mushrooms.

Find out more about the Dutch way of dying here.