Cremated remains and the spreading of ashes

[Thomas Vikander]

This is in regard to someone's ashes presently in North America.
Is there a law against the spreading of some or any of the ashes of a deceased person in places in Sweden that were dear to that individual?
If there is such a law, is there nontheless a custom where this is done, albeit quietly, without resorting to bureaucratic regulations, permits, etc.?
Thanks for your help.
 
Thomas Vikander

[Chris Bingefors]

Thomas
 
Yes, there is a law that forbids the spreading of ashes. They have to be buried at a churchyard or in a Memorial Park. I believe it is possible to ask for a permit to spread ashes but that it is rarely granted. The permit is given by Länsstyrelsen (County Council). Ashes are rarely given to the family in Sweden because of this law.  
 
If you read Swedish here is the information from Gotland:
 
Spridning av aska
Askan efter avliden får strös ut på någon annan plats än begravningsplats, om länsstyrelsen i det län där det är meningen att askan skall strös ut ger tillstånd till det.
 
Tillstånd får meddelas bara om den plats där askan skall strös ut är lämplig för ändamålet och om det är uppenbart att man kommer att hantera askan på ett pietetsfullt sätt. Vanligtvis gäller det spridning på vatten, men det kan även vara på mark. Det bör inte vara i anslutning till bebyggelse eller en plats där allmänheten uppehåller sig, t ex allmän badplats.
 
En ansökan skickas till länsstyrelsen där det framgår att man är anhörig till den avlidne, den avlidnes personnummer och namn och var man önskar sprida askan. Registerutdrag som erhålles av skattemyndigheten skall bifogas ansökan.
 
I det tillstånd som sedan utfärdas anges att man inom ett visst datum som länsstyrelsen bestämmer skall skicka in ett intyg om och när spridningen skett, bevittnat av två personer. Länsstyrelsen meddelar därefter Skattemyndigheten att spridning har skett.
 
Förtida tillstånd utfärdas inte. Men det går bra att skriva ner hur man vill ha det i testamente eller annan handling. För anhöriga kan det ge vägledning om den avlidnes önskan.
 
Generally, you apply for permission with a death certificate and proof that you are a relative. If permission is granted the spreading of ashes has to be witnessed by 2 persons who certify that is was done in the proper way.

[Ingela Martenius]

If you wish to spread the ashes in any place other than a cemetary, you need permission from the Länsstyrelse (county administration) in the applicable county.
On applying for permission you need to enclose
- genealogy table from the IRS (släktutredning från Skatteverket)
- map of the area where you wish to spread the ashes, with the exact spot marked out
- permission from the land owner (not necessary for spreading at sea, lakes or northern mountains (fjäll))
 
If you wish to spread only a part of the ashes, you have to have compelling reasons (synnerliga skäl) to do so. One valid reason is that the rest of the ashes will be interred or spread in another country.
 
There is no custom of doing it without permission. Personally, I've never heard of such a thing - spreading the ashes after a dear departed in secret?! I don't think that is treating the remains with proper respect, not at all.
If permission is denied, it can be appealed. The law talks of suitable places and that, I think, generally means a quiet spot in the countryside. The county administration is mainly concerned that the ashes must be treated with proper respect and that the spreading poses no threat to general sanitation.
 
Many cemetaries have special areas where ashes can be spread or interred anonomously. These places are always very beautiful and one does not have to worry about upkeep or headstones etc. They are becoming increasingly popular.
 
The laws regulating burials, cremations and the spreading of ashes are Begravningslagen (1990:1144) and Begravningsförordningen (1990:1147).
 
Ingela

[Ingela Martenius]

It is not very uncommon to spread the ashes somewhere else than at a cemetary. About 1% of all burials are done this way in Sweden today. The most common place for spreading the ashes is out at sea.
(Source, the Bible site - http://www.bibelsajten.nu/visaFraga.asp?id=1499 )
 
Ingela

[Thomas Vikander]

Thank you Chris and Ingela and other dear friends who contacted me privately about this. I do read Swedish but my speaking and writing it, can be hazzardous to others!
 
The information from Gotland is the same as for other areas in Sweden. Dalarna's site even has provisions for downloading blanketter should a person wish to make applcation to spread ashes elsewhere than at a recognized cemetery or memorial garden.
 
In the case at hand, there is a request to spread 2/5 of a little plastic 35mm film container of ash in a couple of places in Sweden. This is not much. The rest of the contents of this little container would be spread in 3 places in North America. Most (the rest) of the ashes would of course be interred in a cemetery. This was the wish of the deceased.
 
In my searches for lost Swedish-North Americans I have sometimes found that ashes of deceased people have not been picked up by family or others at crematoriums. The ashes are often left stored there for years and then are spread in a specific garden area of a cemetery. In other cases families pick up the ashes and have them interred or they are kept in their homes. I have come across Uncle George containers more than once during home renovations.
 
As for spreading some ashes here and some there, I am familiar with a case where some ashes of a deceased were spread at low tide at the Pacific  shore and the rest were cemetery-interred in a traditional Haida First Nations native indian bent-wood box.
In another family, the widow once a year spreads some of her late pilot husband's ashes near the airport runway where he died, and some near her home.
 
In both cases it's a ceremony/ritual; hardly an eyebrow is raised and these are well-to-do, conservative, profession educated families, grieving in their own personal way.
 
These differences from Swedish burial practices are something we may keep in mind when seeking names in North American cemeteries and when contacting descendents there.
 
Thanks again,
Thomas Vikander