Thursday, October 06, 2005

Friday Cemetery Blogging

Many older monuments have similar decorations and style. Have you ever wondered why? It is not just what was 'in style' at the moment. Most of the embellishments have an accepted symbolic meaning. This phote is a great example:
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The drape symbolizes mortality & mourning. Roses signify victory & triumphant love. The urn represents immortality. Put it all together and you have one family's expression of faith in the future - sadness for the present, recognition of love and acknowledgement that death is not the end.

8 comments:

Headless-in-GR said...

I love the symbolic. I love saying things without words.

Princess of Everything (and then some) said...

That is just beautiful in so many ways. It was before I knew the meanings and even more after.

Jody Harrington said...

I didn't know the meaning of the drape before. These types of monuments were very popular in Victorian to Edwardian times, but now our memorials are very plain--and often are required to be plain by the rules of the cemetary. We've lost something here.

Captainwow said...

Wow. That's really cool. I never knew that stuff.

Captainwow said...

Wow. That's really cool. I never knew that stuff.

Anonymous said...

our memorials ARE very plain, even austere aren't they. Our cemetaries are very strict here. Though my friend got away with something usual and beautiful. Her baby died (aged 11 months) - cot death (SIDS). The moved a very large boulder (like a small standing stone) from their land to the graveside and left is as the marker. No name. No-one has ever complained - perhaps because it's unmarked, and looks 'natural' there.

When I see it I'm reminded how jesus said even the stones would cry out.

spookyrach said...

You are right QG and Lorna - we have lost something with "perpetual care". However, more and more people are taking advantage of new technology and 'personalizing' monuments again.

I've seen a similar monument in the cemetery here, Lorna. It is just a huge boulder with the family name engraved on the side in large letters. I really like it.

annie said...

Ah, it feel so good to come back to the normal world of Friday Cemetery Blogging!

I didn't know about the symbolism either. That's interesting.