Join me for an A to Z Road Trip! I’m taking you on a road trip with me by sharing travel photos for this year’s A to Z Blog Challenge. So come along as we explore some of my favorite offbeat, overlooked and just plain interesting places in Texas… and beyond! Today is letter A: Ashes of the Alamo Dead What happened to the Alamo dead? A sightseeing trip to San Antonio, Texas isn’t complete without a visit to the Alamo, however, few tourists realize that the remains of the Alamo soldiers are kept in a church a couple blocks away.…
Tag: #atozchallenge
What is the April A to Z Blog Challenge? Every April, bloggers from all over the world participate in the April A to Z blog challenge, and you can too! To play along, all you do is make a blog post for each letter of the alphabet during April, then use the blog hop linky to visit as many other bloggers as you can. This will be my 4th year in a row doing the A to Z blog challenge. I keep coming back because it’s so lively and fun! Plus, it’s a great way to find interesting new blogs to read.…
Who is the Virgin of Guadalupe? Since the Virgin of Guadalupe is the patron saint of Mexico, depictions of her are common in areas with a large Hispanic population. The squiggly lines that surround her body represent rays of sunlight. I’m not Hispanic, but the Virgen of Guadalupe made a big impression on me as a little girl when my family visited Mexico City. You might even say that I’ve been a fan of her ever since! To learn more about her, check out this excellent post: Everything You Needed to Know about the Virgen de Guadalupe. Field Guide to…
What Do Upside Down Torches Mean on a Grave? UPSIDE DOWN TORCH: If you read my post for J (
What does a pitcher signify on a headstone? PITCHER: Pitchers mean different things depending on where you are. If you are visiting a Jewish cemetery, then a pitcher at a grave site implies that the person descended from the tribe of Levi. (Levites washed the hands of their priests with water.) If you are in the Christian section of a historic graveyard (as I was when I took the photo you see above), pitchers most often represent a woman of strong moral character, someone who was exceedingly generous, self-sacrificing, and charitable. It can also mean she was a prohibitionist,…
What do obelisks represent? OBELISKS:Despite its origins in worshiping the sun god, Ra, obelisks are a common sight in historic cemeteries. So how did this ancient Egyptian form work its way into Christian symbology? Although they’ve existed for thousands of years, obelisks gained popularity after Napoleon invaded Egypt in the late 1700’s. As the form began to appear in Neoclassical architecture, it made its way into graveyards, where it represents a connection between heaven and earth, as well as power, strength, and fatherhood. In historic cemeteries, an obelisk is often at the center of a family plot, where it represents…