Burial Customs from Around the World
Burial customs from around the world provide an important link to our ancestors. They are physical evidence of a society’s spiritual beliefs, sometimes dating back thousands of years. Most people believe that their ancestor’s spirits journey to an afterlife but what their families do to…
Winged Skull Gravestone Symbols
Winged skull gravestone symbols were common in 18th-century cemeteries. While they may look strange to us today – even morbid or creepy – they held important meaning for our ancestors. Death was a frequent visitor to households in the 1700s. In many areas, it was…
Portraits in Stone
Families have been immortalizing their loved ones with portraits in stone on their gravesites for thousands of years. After all, it’s hard to lose the people you love. So we rationalize that if we could have just one last look at their face, it might…
Australian Gravestone Symbols
Waverley Cemetery in the suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia is consistently ranked as one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world – and it’s a great place to learn about Australian gravestone symbols. Waverly Cemetery is perched on high cliffs overlooking the…
Cemetery Angels
Some of the most touching graveside monuments are cemetery angels. The angels appear in many forms. There are angels dressed in flowing robes with feathery wings and joyful smiles. Others are serious guardians of the deceased, bearing swords. Some carry crosses or flowers. Some angels…
Mayflower Family Gravestones
Mayflower family gravestones help tell the story of the 102 passengers who set sail for America in the year 1620 with hopes of a better life and a place where they and their children could worship in peace. This was the Mayflower’s first cross-Atlantic trip…
