Happy Day of the Dead, All Souls' Day...........November 1st!
Inspired by Susanna and Stephanie , I thought I would celebrate El Dia de los Mortes by sharing some interesting graveyard art. Generally the festivities involving All Souls Day are full of colour and warmth, this series is rather lacking in colour but full of the "spirit"of the day:) These pictures were all taken at the Old Burying Ground in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Here is a list of almost all who are buried here.
The one below has a protective covering on the top to stop it from deteriorating.
The headstones range in age from the 18th century to the 19th century. It was created in the 16th century. It is interesting to see linked themes in the carved stone and how they change as the years pass. In the earlier stones, you can see the guide lines the carver etched into the rock to keep the words straight. God bless all these folk, Martha, Susanna, Elizabeth and others...
This is a masonic headstone of course. The all seeing eye perched at the top. The decorated scroll on the left but not the right. Full of symbolism but I haven't a clue what it means.
Last but not least, this picture is a detail of my great Grandfather, William McLean's headstone in Scotland. He was a renowned fiddler. It was carved by his son.
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11 comments:
wow these are beautiful...
I'm a huge fan of 18th century gravestones and love all the winged souls. These are so like Scottish gravestones - maybe not surprising in a place called Nova Scotia!
great post, ...especially your grandfather's stone, beautiful photo.
TRhese stone's are all so beautiful. It amazes me how they have lasted over the decades. Many still almost like new and yet others barely legible. I had never seen a stone with a protective covering before. The carved angels speak to me and your grandfathers head stone. The carved fiddle is beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
How beautiful! I especially like the symbolism of the tipped-over hourglasses.
How interesting is this! Yes, I'm curious to know what the symbols on the headstones mean, too. I especially like the one of the skull and the hourglass. And your grandfather's headstone is interesting and personal, too. What a great idea, to carve a fiddle in memory of the musician who played it. Thank you for showing us these photos.
There is something interesting about historic cemeteries. The ones here in Northern California do not have the old world charm that I see in your photographs. Besides ours here do not go that far back.
I have a few from a mission but I guess I missed my moment to post them for Day of the Dead.
Thank you for sharing and wishing you a wonderful week,
Egmont
very nice. there is actually a canadian heritage/genealogy project to preserve the inscriptions on headstones using photos. it is a database in development and you can make submissions
CanadianHeadstones.com
How did I miss you post? Gorgeous headstones~I especially like the skulls with the wings. And how wonderful to see that a family member carved the headstone of your grandfather~that makes it extra meaningful.
I enjoyed looking at all the gravestone art, Shelagh. My husband and I do a lot of volunteer work in a historic cemetery here in Brooklyn and I love to wander around reading all the inscriptions and photographing the multitude of angels.
There are some early Dutch stones that have similar engravings to the first few you showed.
Your great grandfather's headstone is beautiful!
I really doubt there would be any tombstones there from the sixteenth century. That would be the 1500s.
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