State Funeral of Bamse
| Date | August 13, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Location | Tomb of Chief Hamsters, Hamsterland |
The State Funeral of Bamse (Swedish: Bamses Statsbegravning) was the funeral ceremony held for Bamse, 3rd Chief Hamster of the State of Hamsterland, on August 13, 2023, following his death 2 days earlier. The ceremony followed the pattern of previous Chief Hamsters Funerals and was organized by the Triumvirate Government. He was laid to rest alongside his predecessors Ludde and Teddy.
Background
Bamses Funeral Ceremony was planned under the Codename Operation Thunderstorm as early as November 2021, 5 months after his inauguration. The ceremony was to follow the pattern used for the State Funerals of his two predecessors but include some new elements. The original plan remained unchanged until June 2023 when after the 2nd Anniversary Celebrations of Bamses Accession the Triumvirate Government and the Congress of Hamsterland decided that Bamse was to be honoured with an extra grand funeral to celebrate his position as the longest serving Chief Hamster at that point in time.
The new plans which included the replacement of the Chief Hamsters Cemetery with a new monument known as the Tomb of Chief Hamsters were presented to Bamse on July 28 and approved the next day. In preparation for the construction of the new monument the Secretary of Housing ordered the materials required on the 5th of August.
Ceremony
The Funeral Ceremony was as planned held on August 13 after the construction of Tomb of Chief Hamsters being completed in a hurry the day before. Before the ceremony began Bamses Coffin lay in state inside the Senate Chamber for 4 hours. It was guarded by a force of 12 State Guards. serving in groups of 4, called in specifically for the occasion. The guard was changed every 30 minutes. 5 minutes before the funeral was to start all the guests assembled in the gardens of Hamsterland. These included the Defender of Hamsterland, the Government, Congress, Chief Hamster Dolly and the Justice of Hamsterland. At the same time all 12 State Guards gathered in the Senate Chamber. When the ceremony officially began the State Guards carried Bamses coffin on stretcher out into the garden where they åplaced the strecher on the ground in front of the tomb.
The Secretary of Foreign Affairs then stepped forward and lifted Bamses coffin from the stretcher handing it to the Defender. While the Defender held the coffin the Secretary of Internal Affairs, the Justice and a few members of Congress delivered commemorative speeches. Then the Defender placed the coffin in the tomb and the State Guards saluted. Together the Secretaries of Housing and Security then buried the coffin. When they were done the State Guards lifted the stretcher and returned inside with it. With this the ceremony was over and the guests left.
In many ways the ceremony was like that of previous Chief Hamsters and included the same key elements: Lying in state with State Guard, Transportation of the coffin outside by the State Guard, Placement of the coffin in the tomb by the Defender, Final salute by the State Guard and burial. The handover of the coffin to the Defender by the Justice and the Commemorative Speeches were new elements to the ceremony. The decision to have Government Secretaries bury the coffin was also new.
Reactions
The ceremony was mostly received well and seen as a great way to pay respect to Bamse. Although the Liberal Party did criticize the event for being a lavish occasion of great pomp and circumstances instead of a solemn occasion of sorrow and reflection.