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Article: Memorialization, Spontaneous
- Article from:
- Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Memorialization, Spontaneous
Spontaneous memorialization is a rapid public response to publicized, unexpected, and violent deaths, typically involving the accumulation of individual mementos to create a shrine at the death site. Most spontaneous memorials start within hours of death notification; someone leaves a candle or bouquet of flowers, which is followed quickly by contributions from others. Well-documented spontaneous memorials have appeared near mass death sites like the park over-looking Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado (the site of fifteen fatal shootings in 1999), the fence surrounding the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City (where a bomb blast ...