Why do most headstones face east? Most people have heard the word “headstone” before. Generally speaking, headstones mark where the head of the deceased is situated. In most Christian cemeteries, the person is oriented so that the body faces east. According to this tradition, this means they will be facing the right direction when the sun comes up on Judgment Day. In a family plot, however, there is often one major headstone. While this monument may have the names of family members inscribed on it, it usually only has the family’s last name. So, you might see a large marker…
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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…
FREE Cemetery Symbols Guide: Would you like a FREE guide to historic cemetery symbolism? If so, click the image below: What does draped cloth signify on a headstone? You know how some folks say a person “saw curtains” as a euphemism for death? Those curtains refer to the veil that separates the living from the dead. In the first photo on this post, the draped cloth simply refers to the person passing from this world to the next. On the next photo, however, the book represents the pages of the deceased person’s life. The cloth falling upon the right side…
WHAT DOES WHEAT SIGNIFY ON A GRAVE? You don’t have to visit many historic cemeteries for the statistics of life expectancy then-and-now to hit home. It’s one thing, for instance, to read that infant mortality in the United States of America was 90% higher 100 years ago than it is now. It’s quite another experience, however, to walk through a historic cemetery in a town that was hit by disease and see a section full of grave markers for children under 6-years-old. For that reason, I am always happy to spot depictions of wheat on a headstone. Wheat, you see,…
What does a larger-than-life T1-30 calculator symbolize in a graveyard? CALCULATOR GRAVE MARKER: That really is a larger-than-life replica of a Texas Instruments T1-30 calculator at the top of this post. Your eyes are not playing tricks on you! So, what exactly does this unique cemetery headstone represent? Is it symbolic of a human adding and subtracting all their good deeds from their bad? Or, perhaps, did an eccentric mathematician bury his or her favorite calculator there upon its demise? I didn’t get close enough to photograph the calculator display because, sadly, I was actually attending a funeral when I…