Tui Snider - author & speaker

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Understanding Cemetery Symbols: What does a lotus flower represent? #cemetery #history #GraveHour

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Understanding Cemetery Symbols by Tui Snider

[The following is an adapted excerpt from my book, Understanding Cemetery Symbols. I hope you enjoy it! Also, full disclosure: that’s an Amazon affiliate link. If you buy my book after clicking it, I make a few pennies at no additional cost to you.]

Lotus flower: an Ancient Egyptian symbol

The lotus flower, also known as the water lily, is an important ancient Egyptian symbol.Since the lotus blooms during the day but closes at night, it symbolized the cycle of life and death. Egyptian columns are often topped with a lotus leaf, as you can see in the photos I shared here.

(c) Tui Snider - water lily a.k.a. lotus flower
(c) Tui Snider – water lily a.k.a. lotus flower

Christians use the lotus flower as a symbol

When adopted by Christians, the lotus refers to the resurrection and eternal life. Like other members of the illy family, this flower also symbolizes purity and innocence.

(c) Tui Snider - Egyptian style columns are often topped with lotus flower designs.
(c) Tui Snider – Egyptian style columns are often topped with lotus flower designs.

 

Sacred symbol for Buddhists, too

The lotus is also a sacred flower to Buddhists. In Buddhism, the lotus bud stands for human potential. If shown with eight petals, it stands for cosmic harmony. If shown with an abundance of petals, it stands for spiritual revelations.

Want to learn more about cemetery symbols?

BLOG POSTS: Click here to read a whole bunch more blog posts about historic graveyards and cemetery symbols. I’m constantly adding new content here!

READ MY BOOK: Check out my book, Understanding Cemetery Symbols. It’s available on Amazon in paperback and ebook form.

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Scraped Graveyards – a Southern Tradition? Understanding Cemetery Symbols #history #GraveHour

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Understanding Cemetery Symbols by Tui Snider

[The following is an adapted excerpt from my book, Understanding Cemetery Symbols. I hope you enjoy it! Also, full disclosure: that’s an Amazon affiliate link. If you buy my book after clicking it, I make a few pennies at no additional cost to you.]

Scraped Graveyards used to be common

Lush green lawns are such a common feature of today’s burial grounds that if you could travel back in time to the 1800’s for a graveyard tour through the rural South, you might be in for a shock. Back then, many graveyards were kept free of vegetation. Why?

(c) Tui Snider - Denson Cemetery is one of the few remaining scraped graveyards in Texas.
(c) Tui Snider – Denson Cemetery is one of the few remaining scraped graveyards in Texas.

An African tradition that was brought to America

Historians think this practice came to America through the influence of African Americans, since a similar custom of scraped burial grounds with mounded graves is seen along the slave coast of Africa.

It’s assumed the custom then gained popularity throughout the South due to its practical aspects.

(c) Tui Snider - Denson Cemetery is one of the few remaining scraped graveyards in Texas.
(c) Tui Snider – Denson Cemetery is one of the few remaining scraped graveyards in Texas.

 

Grass was a nuisance, not a luxury

To early settlers, grass had different connotations than it does today. Not only could it harbor bugs and snakes, but in the days before lawn sprinklers, a large expanse of dried grass could be a fire hazard. Just as a homesteader’s cabin often had dirt floors, their yards, as well, were often kept free of vegetation.

By the same token, early cemeteries throughout the South were often scraped clean of plant life. This practice spread throughout 19th century cemeteries in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.

So why did this tradition change? I’ll get into that in another blog post!

But as you can see from the photos I’ve shared, Denson Cemetery near Grapeland is one of the few remaining examples of a scraped graveyard here in Texas. 

(c) Tui Snider - Denson Cemetery is one of the few remaining scraped graveyards in Texas.
(c) Tui Snider – Denson Cemetery is one of the few remaining scraped graveyards in Texas.

Want to learn more about cemetery symbols?

BLOG POSTS: Click here to read a whole bunch more blog posts about historic graveyards and cemetery symbols. I’m constantly adding new content here!

READ MY BOOK: Check out my book, Understanding Cemetery Symbols. It’s available on Amazon in paperback and ebook form.

Want a FREE Guide to Historic Cemeteries?






Sign up below to grab your FREE Cemetery Symbolism Guide:

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Understanding Cemetery Symbols: What is the Hebrew version of RIP? #cemetery #history #GraveHour

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Understanding Cemetery Symbols by Tui Snider

[The following is an adapted excerpt from my book, Understanding Cemetery Symbols. I hope you enjoy it! Also, full disclosure: that’s an Amazon affiliate link. If you buy my book after clicking it, I make a few pennies at no additional cost to you.]

What does RIP stand for?

In Christian cemeteries, it’s fairly common to see the acronym “RIP” on headstones. Although we tend to think of that as meaning “rest in peace,” it actually stands for “requiescat in pace.” Since that is Latin for “may h/she rest in peace,” it all works out!

(c) Tui Snider - pey & nun, Hebrew for "here lies."
(c) Tui Snider – pey & nun, Hebrew for “here lies.”

Do Jewish headstones use RIP?

While it’s handy to learn the meaning for the most common Latin phrases and acronyms, when you visit a Jewish cemetery you will see Hebrew letters engraved on the monuments. I am not Jewish, but I have come to recognize the Hebrew letters “pey” and “nun.” As a tombstone acronym, these letters are an abbreviation for po nikbar, meaning “here lies.” You can see an example of this in the photo above.

Want to learn more about cemetery symbols?

BLOG POSTS: Click here to read a whole bunch more blog posts about historic graveyards and cemetery symbols. I’m constantly adding new content here!

READ MY BOOK: Check out my book, Understanding Cemetery Symbols. It’s available on Amazon in paperback and ebook form.

Want a FREE Guide to Historic Cemeteries?






Sign up below to grab your FREE Cemetery Symbolism Guide:

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How did a Victorian Era book influence cemetery symbolism? #cemetery #history #GraveHour

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Understanding Cemetery Symbols by Tui Snider

[The following is an adapted excerpt from my book, Understanding Cemetery Symbols. I hope you enjoy it! Also, full disclosure: that’s an Amazon affiliate link. If you buy my book after clicking it, I make a few pennies at no additional cost to you.]

How did a Victorian Era book influence cemetery symbolism?

In 1868, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps published a book entitled The Gates Ajar. Phelps’ book tells the story of a young woman grieving the loss of her brother, a soldier who died in the Civil War. After his death, the main character is unable to accept the senselessness of his death. She even finds her faith challenged as she questions the actions of God.

 

"The Gates Ajar" by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps
“The Gates Ajar” by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps

The Gates Ajar offered comfort to a grieving nation

The book’s main character eventually finds solace by embracing ideas from her aunt, who insists that the gates to heaven are not closed and locked, but slightly ajar. Since these gates do not close behind the dead, departed souls are able to pass back and forth between Heaven and earth. In this way, loved ones who have passed away are able to observe friends and family members who are still among the living.

In addition, the afterlife that Phelps describes in her books is a very pleasant place, where people remain in their human form and go about the same activities as they did in life, even playing the piano, for example.

 

(c) Tui Snider - the gates to Heaven are nearly always shown slightly ajar!
(c) Tui Snider – the gates to Heaven are nearly always shown slightly ajar!

 

The Gates Ajar Triggered a huge mass-marketing campaign in America

After the tremendous loss of lives during the Civil War, America was a nation in mourning. This was also a time when many Christians believed that God had already decided who would go to Heaven and who would go to Hell, regardless of their behavior while alive. Needless to say, there were many Americans who could relate to the conflicts in Phelps’ book.

Despite controversy, The Gates Ajar was hugely successful

On the other hand, critics of The Gates Ajar denounced it as misguided at best and heretical at worst. Despite all this controversy, (or perhaps, in part, because of it) Phelps’ book was wildly successful. In fact, The Gates Ajar was so popular that it triggered one of America’s first mass-marketing campaigns, including Gates Ajar clothing, cigars, patent medicines, and numerous songs, with titles such as “Gates Ajar,” “the Gate Ajar for Me,” “Passed within the Gates Ajar,” and many more. (The next time you come across an old hymnal, see if you can find any songs from the late 1800’s that pay homage to this book!)

"The Gates Ajar" book even inspired a floral arrangement!
“The Gates Ajar” book even inspired a floral arrangement!

The Gates Ajar floral arrangement is an enduring tradition

By the 1880’s, florists began creating special flower arrangements in an arch shape to represent the famous “gates ajar” mentioned in Phelp’s book. Even today, a quick Google search for florists and the keywords “gates ajar” shows that the flower arrangement named after Phelps’ book remains an enduring tradition.

When you see monuments in cemeteries from 1868 and on, look for epitaphs referencing “gates ajar.” Many times when you see engravings of heavenly gates with the doors ajar, it is a reference to a controversial book that comforted a grieving nation in the late 1800’s.

Want to learn more about cemetery symbols?

BLOG POSTS: Click here to read a whole bunch more blog posts about historic graveyards and cemetery symbols. I’m constantly adding new content here!

READ MY BOOK: Check out my book, Understanding Cemetery Symbols. It’s available on Amazon in paperback and ebook form.

Want a FREE Guide to Historic Cemeteries?






Sign up below to grab your FREE Cemetery Symbolism Guide:

We respect your email privacy

Understanding Cemetery Symbols: What’s Spock doing in a Historic Graveyard? #cemetery #history #GraveHour

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Understanding Cemetery Symbols by Tui Snider

[The following is an adapted excerpt from my book, Understanding Cemetery Symbols. I hope you enjoy it! Also, full disclosure: that’s an Amazon affiliate link. If you buy my book after clicking it, I make a few pennies at no additional cost to you.]

Live long and prosper?

If you are a Star Trek fan, you may be surprised to see a pair of hands, seemingly giving Commander Spock’s famous “Live long and prosper” gesture, engraved on a headstone.

As it happens, Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock in the famous TV show, was Jewish. As a child, he saw members of his church making this sign. Later, while developing his portrayal of Spock,  Nimoy proposed using this unique gesture for the famous Vulcan character.

 

(c) Tui Snider - "Spock Hands" aka "Cohen Hands"
(c) Tui Snider – “Spock Hands” aka “Cohen Hands”

Cohen Hands a.k.a. Hands of Kohanim

When you see “Spock hands” on a tomb, you are actually looking at “Cohen hands,” which may also be referred to as the “Hands of Kohanim.” This hand gesture signifies that the deceased is a Jewish person who descended from the priestly Tribe of Cohen.

Incidentally, Cohen descendants are forbidden from attending funerals, except in the case of their relatives and closest friends.

Want to learn more about cemetery symbols?

BLOG POSTS: Click here to read a whole bunch more blog posts about historic graveyards and cemetery symbols. I’m constantly adding new content here!

READ MY BOOK: Check out my book, Understanding Cemetery Symbols. It’s available on Amazon in paperback and ebook form.

Want a FREE Guide to Historic Cemeteries?






Sign up below to grab your FREE Cemetery Symbolism Guide:

We respect your email privacy

Understanding Cemetery Symbols: What are Grave Goods? #cemetery #history #GraveHour

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Understanding Cemetery Symbols by Tui Snider

[The following is an adapted excerpt from my book, Understanding Cemetery Symbols. I hope you enjoy it! Also, full disclosure: that’s an Amazon affiliate link. If you buy my book after clicking it, I make a few pennies at no additional cost to you.]

What are Grave Goods?

When people visit cemeteries, they often leave items at gravesites such as coins, pebbles, seashells, decorations and items called “grave goods.”

(c) Tui Snider - Doll on a child's grave in Thurber, TX
(c) Tui Snider – Doll on a child’s grave in Thurber, TX

Two kinds of grave goods

Items left at a gravesite that once belonged to the deceased or that are associated with the deceased, are called “grave goods.” Grave goods may either be left on top of the gravesite or buried with the deceased.

(c) Tui Snider - Grave goods for Dimebag Darrell in Arlington, TX
(c) Tui Snider – Grave goods for Dimebag Darrell in Arlington, TX

 

An example of both

The famous rocker, Dimebag Darrell, offers a good example for both types of grave goods. Not only is he buried in a KISS casket with one of Eddie Van Halen’s bumblebee guitars, but visitors often leave little bottles of booze on top of his grave as a tribute to his hard-partying rock and roll lifestyle.

Grave decorations vs Grave goods

Grave decorations, on the other hand, are items meant to beautify a gravesite. In modern cemeteries, I often see solar powered lights, colorful pinwheels and wind chimes as grave decorations. Up until the 1930’s grave goods were a common sight throughout the US.

(c) Tui Snider - Grave goods and Grave decorations in Granbury, TX
(c) Tui Snider – Grave goods and Grave decorations in Granbury, TX

Some cemeteries don’t allow grave goods

After the Great Depression, perpetual care became the norm for modern American cemeteries. Cemetery organizations became much more strict about the types of grave goods they will allow. Even so, the practice continues to this day.

There’s  more to the topic of grave goods, but this is enough for one blog post, don’t you think? I’ll go into more detail another time. Have you seen grave goods in your neck of the woods? What sorts of things do you see in the cemeteries near you?

Want to learn more about cemetery symbols?

BLOG POSTS: Click here to read a whole bunch more blog posts about historic graveyards and cemetery symbols. I’m constantly adding new content here!

READ MY BOOK: Check out my book, Understanding Cemetery Symbols. It’s available on Amazon in paperback and ebook form.

Want a FREE Guide to Historic Cemeteries?






Sign up below to grab your FREE Cemetery Symbolism Guide:

We respect your email privacy