Black is the most widely recognised mourning colour in many Western contexts, but white is the traditional mourning colour in several East and South Asian cultures, and purple has also served as a mourning colour in specific historical and regional contexts.
Black became the dominant mourning colour in much of Western Europe and North America, strongly reinforced by Victorian-era mourning customs in 19th-century Britain.
Western Europe and North America · 19th century (Victorian era) onward
White is a traditional colour of mourning in China, and in Hindu mourning traditions in India, contrasting with white's association with purity or celebration in many Western contexts.
Chinese and Hindu
Purple served as a secondary 'half-mourning' colour in Victorian Britain, worn as mourning dress transitioned back toward ordinary colours.
Britain · 19th century (Victorian era)
In Thai culture, purple has traditionally been worn by widows in mourning.
Thai
Where mourning dress is well documented it turns out to be a sequence. The fullest record on this page, for British widows in the 19th century, describes a year in matte black without ornament, then permitted trimmings, then a half-mourning stage in which grey and quiet purples returned. Surface mattered as much as hue: dull crêpe marked the deepest stage and a glossy satin a later one. The same is true of rule-based mourning in worship, where the Roman Rite names violet for Masses for the Dead and, in some countries, allows white or black instead. Asking 'what colour is mourning?' therefore usually has more than one right answer inside a single tradition. 1, 2, 3
Each row applies only to the tradition, place and period named in it, on the authority named in it.
| Tradition | Where | When | According to | What is recorded | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widow's mourning, middle and upper classes | Great Britain | 1837–1901, and especially after 1861 | Victoria and Albert Museum | Correct mourning dress became a marker of respectability, particularly after Prince Albert's death. Full mourning lasted a year and meant unembellished matte black worn without jewellery. | 1 |
| Half-mourning | Great Britain | 1837–1901 | Victoria and Albert Museum | After the first year a widow could add trimmings and simple jewellery, and once in half-mourning she could bring in grey and subtle shades of purple. | 1 |
| Commercial mourning wear | Regent Street, London | about 1885 | Victoria and Albert Museum gallery label | A warehouse trading by appointment to the Queen sold a black satin two-piece that followed the latest cut closely; its sheen suggests a later phase of mourning, perhaps a year after the death. | 2 |
| Roman Catholic liturgy (Roman Rite) | United States edition of the rubric | current | General Instruction of the Roman Missal, no. 346 | Violet may be worn in Offices and Masses for the Dead, and in the dioceses of the United States white or black may be used at funeral services in its place. | 3 |
| Roman Catholic liturgy, as explained to English-speaking readers | Western Church | 1908 | The Catholic Encyclopedia | Black was then one of five vestment colours and was glossed as signifying the sorrow of death. The article calls it a universal emblem of mourning, which is its authors' view in 1908 and not a finding. | 4 |
Generalisation: The West mourns in black and the East in white.
Evidence: Too tidy on the half that this section can check. British mourning etiquette moved through black, grey and purple, and one Christian rite currently permits violet, white or black at a funeral depending on country. The practice cards on this page record white mourning in particular Chinese and Hindu traditions from general reference works; no museum or primary source for them was verified here, so this section neither strengthens nor weakens those entries. 1, 3
Each of these is a separately scoped, separately sourced practice — shown together for comparison, not because they share one underlying meaning.
Black and half-mourning purple in Victorian Britain
Historical — no longer current practiceBritain · 19th century (Victorian era) – early 20th century
Victorian-era mourning etiquette in Britain prescribed black clothing for an initial period of mourning, followed by a 'half-mourning' phase permitting muted purples and greys before a return to ordinary colours — a formalised social custom rather than a universal or timeless rule.
Black at contemporary Western funerals
Stable, widely documentedNorth America and Western Europe
Black remains the most widely recognised colour for funeral attire in much of North America and Western Europe today, though this expectation has loosened considerably compared with the formal Victorian-era mourning customs it descends from.
White mourning in Chinese tradition
Stable, widely documentedChina and Chinese diaspora communities · Chinese mourning tradition
White is the traditional mourning colour in Chinese custom, worn at funerals and during a mourning period — the reverse of white's association with celebration in many Western wedding contexts.
White mourning in Hindu tradition
Stable, widely documentedIndia and South Asian diaspora · Hindu mourning tradition
White is a traditional colour of mourning and simplicity in Hindu custom in India, often worn by close family during a mourning period, contrasting with the red commonly worn at Hindu weddings.
Purple mourning dress for widows in Thai tradition
Changing over timeThailand · Thai mourning tradition
Purple has traditionally been worn by widows in mourning in Thai custom — a distinct, documented tradition separate from Victorian Britain's unrelated use of purple as a half-mourning colour.
Every claim above is scoped by the specific culture, region and/or period it applies to — none of these associations are presented as universal. See pigment and dye history for more.