.....Go for a walk through a cemetery. Each summer the City of Edmonton runs guided tours at three of the oldest cemeteries in the city. So tonight I went on one at the Edmonton Cemetery which dates back to 1886.
I did take some other pictures which were more interesting than this one. However, they say that you learn something new everyday and today I did. I took this picture facing east. If you take a close look you will see the headstones in the distance facing a different direction than those in the forefront.
The ones in the back are part of the Catholic section while the ones in the front are part of the Protestant section. So what did I learn you ask. Apparently headstones in Catholic cemeteries face north while ones in Protestant cemeteries face east, at least that is the way it is here in Canada.
This might sound weird, but my room mate from Nurses Training and I like to visit cemetaries whenever we travel together. We like to quess the cause of death by dates.
@jolefont I have never done that before. I usually go for the historic information. Several of our cities founding pioneers, mayors and notble citizens are buried here
That is very interesting! I don't know if that's the case here or not. It would certainly be something to look into! Now I can say I learned something new today and I haven't even finished breakfast yet!
I love walking through cemeteries! I find them interesting and peaceful. Thanks for your commentary - I never noticed this before. I did just google it, however, as you got my curiosity up. It seems like it's more a regional thing. Some cemeteries do an east-west orientation, having to do with the rising and setting of the sun. Some do a north- south placement. In earlier days, the placement of graves had to do with what type of life the person lead - if they abide by the "rules" of the society, they were placed in the opposite position. Very interesting!
Fascinating shot, and even more fascinating background - I didn't know about the orientation thing. It's very interesting reading the inscriptions on the really old gravestones.
In one of our cemeteries there is a wall to separate them. A lovely couple, one C. the other P. died and they are buried close to that wall each on one side . The statutes on it have two hands that`s hold together ( give hands , hand shake ) over that wall.
Interesting observation. I never have looked to see if there is a difference by religion...I just thought it was how the cemetery organized to fit the most in!
Boy, we do learn from each other, don't we? I have never given this a thought or even noticed it before. So next time I'm in a cemetery, I'm going to take a closer inspection of the direction of the head stones.
Great shot - l took some shots last year of a cemetery on a point ...same thing, the Catholic section faced one way the Protestant and others weren't opposite but at right angles to each other!!
Here in the states the headstones in the Catholic cemetaries also all face the same way, not sure about Protestant. I too like to walk through a older cemetary, the history lessons that they hold are fascinating along with the different types of memorials. Wood or stone head markers, large and small, some with photographs and the different figures carved into the stone.
