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momwise
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This is a great activity for the whole month of Nov. if you didn't get to do it on All Souls' day. Mary M planned a great field trip that turned out to be one the kids' all time favorites.
Our Catholic cemetery has a Walking Tour guide and a section for Spanish American War vets, which is something you might check on for Veteran's day.
I found these resources online:
History Hunters Cemetery Tour
PBS History Dectectives
Tombstone Rubbings
None of these sites are Catholic, so you get to add in the *good*stuff  We did a wonderful prayer service.
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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JennGM
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 I love cemeteries! We went to two over the weekend to visit dh's father's grave and mil's family graves. My little one was running around and kissing "Jesus" on different stones and loving the whole experience.
We've also have done grave rubbings of older family graves to research family trees.
When I attended Franciscan University, it was the first time I had lived in the "North". There was a beautiful Union cemetery, with graves dating back to the 1700s, I believe. It was just a beautiful meditative peaceful place to visit...of course, I had to get over the fact that I was in a "Union" (i.e., Yankee) cemetery. It was my first!
Besides historical aspects, there are many cultural lessons from cemeteries...at least in places where there are definite communities, such as Polish, Italian, German. You see the different names, how it seems cultural choices of gravestones. The Italians seem to pick elaborate, with lots of religious statuary. Germans have the clean lines, simple graves.
You can always gain partial indulgences for the Poor Souls when visiting cemeteries and also praying the "Eternal Rest" prayer (see here.
So we have social studies, religion, history...and incorporate the nature studies and math (counting the graves, geometry of gravestones, figuring out ages of the people, running average ages...) we have a whole school day!
I'm itching to go visit a nice cemetery right now!
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Jennifer G. Miller
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JennGM
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Okay, question. On your first link, it says "Please do not walk on the graves!" Now the site I was just visiting, there was just no way to get to a grave without walking on it, they were so close together. And to do a rubbing you have to stand on it.
Is there a reason to not walk on them? I thought it was just something a little superstitious. Can someone fill me in?
If you have ever seen pictures of older cemeteries in Europe, bodies and stones are placed one on top of another, such as this Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague. So how can you not walk on them?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Sarah
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Jenn-
I thought you were supposed to try not to walk on them out of respect. Just like kids shouldn't climb on the tombstones. However at a cemetary we recently visited, it was nearly unavoidable due to how they were placed. I think you just do the best you can. I'd like to hear if someone else has a better answer than mine.
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JennGM
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Sarah wrote:
Jenn-
I thought you were supposed to try not to walk on them out of respect. Just like kids shouldn't climb on the tombstones. However at a cemetary we recently visited, it was nearly unavoidable due to how they were placed. I think you just do the best you can. I'd like to hear if someone else has a better answer than mine. |
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Yes, I should have said "out of respect", but I wonder if some of it is a a little superstitious...like you don't step on people.
You see what I mean? It seems unavoidable, especially if you are looking at the grave up close.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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MacBeth
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And some graveyards forbid grave rubbings, too. Respect or preservation?
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MacBeth in NY
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Michaela
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jenngm67 wrote:
[QUOTE=Sarah] Jenn-
Yes, I should have said "out of respect", but I wonder if some of it is a a little superstitious...like you don't step on people.
You see what I mean? It seems unavoidable, especially if you are looking at the grave up close. |
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I understand what you're saying. When I visit my father's grave, I feel like I'm almost playing hopscotch so I won't step where I shouldn't. I've never heard you shouldn't, but for me, it is out of respect.
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Cay Gibson
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Our co-op group met this afternoon at the cemetery. Plans were to do gravestone rubbings, go over cemetery etiquette (dos and don'ts), discuss why we visit cemeteries, how to behavior at the cemetery, what is Purgatory, and how can we help the poor souls in purgatory.
This morning at Little Flowers, one little friend told my dd that she wasn't going because she didn't like the cemetery. Perhaps that explains why only half the normal crowd showed up.
Even my own dd told me in the car, "Uh, Mom, can't people simply go to church to pray for the dead? Don't you think people thought ya'll were a little weird standing in a cemetery?"
While it was understandable (and it was cold today), it seems that even Catholics with the best intentions avoid the cemetery slightly. I can also respect the thought that some families would rather do this privately with their families instead of going as a group. Crowd control is a little daunting. 
The ones who showed up really seemed to get a lot out of it and enjoyed it. But I think we have a long way to go before people realize fully the legacy of the cemetery. Cemeteries are so intimitating.
In researching, I realize just how beautiful the Christian burial is. I have much to learn myself. I found this on a website:
"This union with Christ and community was evident in the early crypts, which served not only as burial places but also as places for the celebration of the Eucharist. The memorial of the death and resurrection of the Lord offered the promise of eternal life."
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Cay Gibson
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MaryM
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Cay Gibson wrote:
| "This union with Christ and community was evident in the early crypts, which served not only as burial places but also as places for the celebration of the Eucharist. The memorial of the death and resurrection of the Lord offered the promise of eternal life." |
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Thanks for sharing your trip report with us and the above quote. I would love to hear more about your cemeteries in Louisiana, Cay. Do the ones in your area have many above ground graves like I understand they do in New Orleans? The geographic variations in cemeteries is interesting. Those of you in the East have an advantage of a lot longer period of history covered, too. I guess in the West we do have a few unique aspects also in that we have "boothill" cemeteries and many of those old west ones still have wooden headstones.
Cay Gibson wrote:
| This morning at Little Flowers, one little friend told my dd that she wasn't going because she didn't like the cemetery. |
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That was pretty much the reaction I got from a couple kids when I talked with my world culture's co-op class about Dia de los Muertos when we were studying Mexico. I wish those kids would have gone on our little field trip- I think they would have left with a different perspective. My two youngest (5 and 10) really look forward to going to the cemetery because for them it is a fascinating place - not one of fear.
momwise wrote:
| We did a wonderful prayer service. |
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I'm glad you liked it, Gwen. We did do the "Eternal Rest" prayer. We also had each family write on a paper the names of people who had died that they wanted to remember in prayer. Then each family read those aloud,we prayed for them and placed the papers in a can and burned them. We talked about our prayers raising up to heaven like the smoke.
jenngm67 wrote:
| So we have social studies, religion, history...and incorporate the nature studies and math (counting the graves, geometry of gravestones, figuring out ages of the people, running average ages...) we have a whole school day! |
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And don't forget -
Language Arts: epitaphs, death poetry/prose, journaling about feelings/experiences of trip, writing obituaries
Art: drawing/sketching, study of symbols, tracing symbols, and of course the rubbings.
Science: general nature studies as mentioned, also stone identification, weathering/erosion, moss/lichen growth, decay/decompostion
Music: Requiems, composers
Geography: orienteering/map reading
There is another site with a lot of specific Cemetery Studies. It has great questions for all the categories. The amount of info that can be gathered and skills that can be used in a cemetery are vast. Their math section has lots of additional ideas - particularly interesting one on comparing average age span/life expectancy between decades. There was one idea suggested that my daughter ended up doing without having it suggested - that was to find someone with the same birthday (month & day). She found someone who was born exactly 100 years before her - she thought is was a great find.
It appears there is actually a name for people whose hobby it is spending time cemeteries/studying tombstones - taphophile
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JennGM
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Cay Gibson wrote:
While it was understandable (and it was cold today), it seems that even Catholics with the best intentions avoid the cemetery slightly. I can also respect the thought that some families would rather do this privately with their families instead of going as a group. Crowd control is a little daunting.
The ones who showed up really seemed to get a lot out of it and enjoyed it. But I think we have a long way to go before people realize fully the legacy of the cemetery. Cemeteries are so intimitating. |
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I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately. Our society is afraid of death, and so we have separated ourselves, even "anesthetized" our lives away from the reality of death. Having just gone through my grandmother's death and funeral, it really hit home. Her deathbed was inspiring, and yet some family members didn't want to see it...it was too scary and upsetting for them.
The body is taken to a funeral home, instead of being kept in the family parlor, like it used to be done, at least in her lifetime in Louisiana. It was the idea of keeping her company and saying goodbye, being surrounded by loved ones until put into the ground. To go into a sterile funeral home to pay respects at an appointed time is just another removal of death from our lives.
We had a schedule conflict with our funeral home, so my grandmother got to "lie in state" at church. That's where we had our wake and rosary. It was just the way she would have wanted!
Cay Gibson wrote:
In researching, I realize just how beautiful the Christian burial is. I have much to learn myself. I found this on a website:
"This union with Christ and community was evident in the early crypts, which served not only as burial places but also as places for the celebration of the Eucharist. The memorial of the death and resurrection of the Lord offered the promise of eternal life." |
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That is beautiful! Where did you go for your cemetery tour? My family has a few crypts I believe in Thibodaux, St. Joseph Cemetery? They are like the ones you asked about, MaryM. They are above ground and beautiful--suitable places for shelter and Mass and praying and family gatherings. You should try and get to one, Mary!
I had a great-great aunt (from N.O.) who told stories about the yellow fever epidemic when they quickly buried bodies and then the coffins would be floating all over when it rained. This is why they insisted on the above ground crypts!
The beautiful richness of our Christian burial! The Mass is SOO wonderful. Our baptism, the light, the Paschal candle, the Resurrection, our little Easter, so many symbolisms. I always thought I would want the black vestments at my funeral, but for my grandmother's, white was so appropriate. And I'm rethinking the color for mine.
While the liturgy was consoling and I felt connected and at peace, some of the traditions and customs of America have removed some of the "closure" that we can do at burial. They no longer allow you to watch them put the coffin into the grave. Nor can you put a handful of dirt. We did press flowers on top of the coffin, which was a little nice for the children. But to see this cement casing, so that her body or other matter doesn't "leach" into the soil was annoying. And the cemeteries out her are so organized and clean, with uniform graves, with no headstones because that looks "messy" -- ridiculous!
Also that the cemeteries are in far and out of the way places, we don't get "reminders" because we don't pass them as much.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Cay Gibson
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jenngm67 wrote:
To go into a sterile funeral home to pay respects at an appointed time is just another removal from our lives.
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Everything has become so sterile, hasn't it? 
We have become so removed from life, haven't we?
No more time...
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Cay Gibson
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JennGM
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MaryM wrote:
jenngm67 wrote:
| So we have social studies, religion, history...and incorporate the nature studies and math (counting the graves, geometry of gravestones, figuring out ages of the people, running average ages...) we have a whole school day! |
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And don't forget -
Language Arts: epitaphs, death poetry/prose, journaling aobut feelings/experiences of trip, writing obituaries
Art: drawing/sketching, study of symbols, tracing symbols, and of course the rubbings.
Science: general nature studies as mentioned, also stone identification, weathering/erosion, moss/lichen growth, decay/decompostion
Music: Requiems, composers
Geography: orienteering/map reading
There is another site with a lot of specific Cemetery Studies. .....
It appears there is actually a name for people whose hobby it is spending time cemeteries/studyingtombstones - taphophile |
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As usual, Mary, GREAT stuff! I've got to pass this along to my sisters, they will love this information.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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momwise
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Descansos in the Southwest
I was looking for Ann Ball's book about the dead when I found this article. Fascinating! We were always struck by how many roadside shrines and memorials there are in New Mexico.
I didn't see the book on the website. Here it is on Amazon.
Jenn....I'll bet a lot of priests do not even own black vestments anymore.
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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Cay Gibson
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I thought every state had these.
????
Louisiana has many memorials where someone has died in a car accident. I didn't know they were called *descansos*. Thanks for the article.
momwise wrote:
| Jenn....I'll bet a lot of priests do not even own black vestments anymore. |
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We have two priests in our area who wear them faithfully.
At the football game last Friday, two of our area priests were there. They both had on their black clerics, not the robe but pants. It was nice to see priests at a football game, eating hotdogs and drinking cold drinks and laughing with their parishioners. It was a good witness to other religions that priests are people and are not anti-social as the media has made them out to be.
I think if more priests got out around the people, it would end a lot of the priest scandal. How? Because then people would be able to say, "But I know a very good priest. He isn't like what the media says."
But, on the same line of thought, it was ironic here in Louisiana after the hurricane, there was not a priest in sight.  Neighbors and friends said when they came home it was the Protestant ministers who were out and about helping people in the area and caring for ones who were not even their church flock. The Catholic priests were no where to be seen. Crews of Baptists were in the area cutting up trees for free.
When my oldest dd made a comment about it, I told her it starts with each one of us. We really shouldn't point the finger at any one else, but look to ourself and ask, "What am I doing to help make a difference?"
Still, the Protestants were a BIG witness to the area.
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
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Cay Gibson
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MaryM wrote:
I would love to hear more about your cemeteries in Louisiana, Cay. Do the ones in your area have many above ground graves like I understand they do in New Orleans?
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We have a few above ground graves, but only the people with lots of money or who really, really wanted one has one. New Orleans is below sea-level. I think we're a tad above it. Or level, perhaps. At any rate, most of our graves are in the ground.
jenngm67 wrote:
Where did you go for your cemetery tour? My family has a few crypts I believe in Thibodaux, St. Joseph Cemetery? |
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Jenn,
We were in a small local cemetery in Westlake (near Lake Charles). The girls and I went there often while the boys were at co-op last year. We were out in the fresh air and it was a rather peaceful place to go.
On Friday our group drew suspicions though. Two of the caretakers came over to ask if we needed anything.  I told them what we were there for and they offered to talk to the kids about proper behavior. They said they've had a fire started and two vaults broken into last week. Thus the suspicions.
He also told me that we were in *Perkins* cemetery, as though that should mean something to me. I know my expression was blank because he said, "You're in the black section of the cemetery. Over there's the white section." I guess he was wondering why a bunch of white people were gathered in this section of the cemetery.
Geez, I went back to where the other moms were standing around talking and told them I didn't know the south was still segregated. They gave me the same blank look until I explained to them we were in the black section. They burst out laughing. No disrespect intended. It was just so strange that the cemetery was color-coded!!!
Only in Louisiana...
jenngm67 wrote:
They are above ground and beautiful--suitable places for shelter and Mass and praying and family gatherings. You should try and get to one, Mary! |
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There a book by children's author Janice Levy on this. The story takes place in Mexico. The Spirit of Tio Fernando
I have more to write but I have to get to evening Mass.
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
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JennGM
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momwise wrote:
Descansos in the Southwest
I was looking for Ann Ball's book about the dead when I found this article. Fascinating! We were always struck by how many roadside shrines and memorials there are in New Mexico.
I didn't see the book on the website. Here it is on Amazon. |
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That's a pretty good book...I read it through. Learned lots of new things. She did take heavily from Father Francis Weiser's books, so I recommend you read those, too!
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Cay Gibson
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jenngm67 wrote:
| I had a great-great aunt (from N.O.) who told stories about the yellow fever epidemic when they quickly buried bodies and then the coffins would be floating all over when it rained. This is why they insisted on the above ground crypts! |
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Jenn,
I wanted to come back to this and tell you that we recently learned that two of the coffins they located in the marsh after Hurricane Rita turned out to be coffins that were carried off after Hurricane Audrey which happened in 1957!
Some coffins were never found after Audrey and, they suspect, were buried by the storm in the marsh after the waters subsided. The flooding from Rita washed away the marsh mud and allowed them to float to the surface.
Cameron Parish is still missing some coffins buried after Audrey and washed up from Rita.
We haven't been to Cameron Parish yet (the parish below ours). But my youngest ds went with friends. They went to one of the Catholic churches that was gutted. He said his friend's grandmother took a prayer book that she found in the church.
Garrett asked me if that was stealing. He remembers all the talk of vandalism and looting. I thought about it awhile then told him that what she did was actually a case of preservation. The church will be bulldozed and everything in it piled into a landfill and burned. I just can't see any harm in taking a precious prayer book home to your family.
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Cay Gibson
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Cemetery Tour
