Pumpkins, Leaves and That First Hint of Crisp Air

October is almost gone :(

I don't know why but this month always flies by. Maybe it's the change in weather, which in the Georgia Mountains, can be volatile One day it's 80F, the next morning it's in the 40s. I am not complaining though. It's a sign it's winter squash and apple season and I adore both.

It's also spooky movie and tv season! I watched Midnight Mass which has such Stephen King vibes. I love ensemble cast type shows with great flawed characters. Although this show is definitely not for everyone, it's been interesting. I think Stranger Things has a similar feel with great characters although not quite as dark. I can't wait for Stranger Things to premier it's next season.

Not so spooky but fascinating are cemetery tours. Well, I'm sure for some they are eerie or give rise to not so nice memories. I love cemeteries. The artwork and history in some of the older ones is amazing. Did you know, there's a lot of symbolism and ritual in most cemeteries?

Many Christian cemeteries the graves are laid in an East-West pattern. The idea was the head faced West with the feet pointed East. In the Christian faith, this is often attributed to facing in the direction of the risen Christ. Priests, on the other hand, were often buried with their heads pointed East and feet West so that they faced their parishioners.

People often adorned grave markers with symbolic decorations. Lambs signified the death of a child. Doves, peace, love and in the Christian Faith, the Holy Spirit and Resurrection. There's also tons of service organization oriented symbols. Woodmen of the World can be really interesting and I've seen one marker depicting a stump. Then there's the International Order of the Odd Fellows. Their symbols were a key, hourglass and hand over heart with three linked circles.

Non-Christian burials have their own ritual and symbolism as well. A lot of cemeteries will section off to separate Jewish burials which have fascinating histories of their own. Catholics and various service organizations will also have defined separate sections. You also cannot ignore history, prejudice and the clear affect it had separating black burials from white. In one old cemetery I visited, it was so pronounced, at one time there was a wall built to separate blak burials from white. That wall was eventually dismantled. Unfortunately, the prejudice and discrimination not so much.

Grave stones can give glimpses into the lives of who is buried beneath them, or in the in the case of Mausoleums, inside them. You don't often get the same thing from modern cemeteries which is a pity. Also, if you are looking for an ancestor or family grave, I recommend the find-a-grave website. You have to have some basic information but it is very cool to stumble across pictures of family graves you might not have seen or know about.

Here are some pictures from Old Evergreen Cemetery i Jacksonville, Florida. Hope you have cool old cemetery you can visit one day and remember, in these cities of the dead, we, and our families are the stories they tell. Happy October!