Christian denominations celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints' Day and the Feast of All Souls' Day because of the fundamental belief that there is a prayerful spiritual communion between those in the state of grace who have died and are either being purified in purgatory or are in heaven (the 'church penitent' and the 'church triumphant', respectively), and the 'church militant' who are the living. Different Christian traditions define, remember and respond to the saints in very different ways.
November 2 is All Souls Day, and in our church, we will go to the cemetery to pray for our loved ones.
So, in keeping with my view of Hallowe'en, I give you a very old graveyard on the side of the highway near Moyie, B.C.
Imagine walking through the woods, and suddenly seeing these headstones sprouting up from the earth....
Gone, and forgotten; no one to tend his grave....
Do forgotten souls have anyone to pray for them? We too shall be forgotten some day, our graves untended, mossy, and unkempt; but our souls shall for all eternity delight in the Light which calls us to come to Him.
21 comments:
I used to board my horses on an Air Force Base. Whenever we would ride to the base lake, we had to pass a little graveyard along the way (on base property!) The little white picket fence and graves were in good repair even though they were very old. It really creeped me out the first time I saw them, right in the middle of nowhere on a hill.
Out in the wild, of Scotland, there are the remains of small crofting communities still to be seen. They are the remnants of the "Highland Clearances", a bad time. But you can still see the old headstones of graves long forgotten, and out there when the weather is overcast, and the wind howls, you can almost hear them asking for you! The names are written in the Gael, not the place to hang around!
I prefer your Halloween! I am not one for our kind of Halloween!
There is a sad story behind those graves Shirley... you should try and get the story on them. I do believe they are the graves of the Chinese slaves that worked in the area's mine. I think was a ore mine but not 100% sure.
Tara
What a great history lesson. I love the history in these old graveyards.
http://picturesbybrenda.blogspot.com/
Ya, I am NOT for the festivities of this nights events either. Having learned about the origins
of Halloween, when I studied to become a Catholic believer,I realised that dressing up to fool the evil spirits was nothing to be triffled with!
Though people are largely and mostly convinced it is a childs holiday...another way to rewrite history,I'm afraid.
Having a
health care worker and living next door to a women's mental institude worker...um NOPE..it is a spiritual event that one allows...so much weirdness and suffering occurs.
To which side of the fence-I choose CHRIST !
For others, ignorance is bliss!
oops...rant...
Lovely photos,
KK
Love old graveyards, the older the better..:-)
Love old cemeteries, Great shots. :)
While I enjoy the simple pleasure of the little kids all dressed up and excited ,I honestly think that it could be a totally different day.I much prefer the light that you choose to follow on this day
Wow! Little old graveyards like that are so fascinating! Lovely pics!
Lovely post, I concur.
Blessings on this, o' hallowed eve.
I used to live in a house that was a few hundred feet from an old overgrown and forgotten cemetery, most grave markers were unreadable and some gone entirely. it was a lonely and forlorn place for sure.
Those individual fences made it looked more creepier! I've only been to two old graveyards, mostly in Ghost Towns.
I prefer your take on the 31st too. I love old grave yards.
these photos are great, moving & errie without being weird & sooky
great job
I too much prefer your kind of Halloween, Shirley!
Nice to see someone else that doesn't automatically think of Halloween as "evil" or "the devil's day" :)
Always feel for the older stones in a cemetery...most likely even those who would care for them are gone over...Cemeteries are the most quiet, peaceful places though...like to stop by and tell everyone hello and wish them well...
the most we do is buy lots of candy for kids - but since we always lived in a rural area, no on shows up...lol and we do pumpkins, but i usually dont carve them because i use them for thanksgiving decorations..and PIE!
And yes, if we were a mare, we would be called "food-driven" lol
Well, poo. And I thought Halloween was all about dressing up to beg for candy. lol! And around here parents get to pick out the good chocolate treats from their kids' candy bags. hehe!
I do love a beautiful and old graveyard anyday. But I won't be buried on one and forgotten. My ashes will be spread across my favorite mountains to nourish the earth, where my children and grandchildren can hike and visit and feel close to me whenever they'd like. :)
~Lisa
Ah, but Lisa, the beauty of a graveyard is that someone who never knew you can come and visit, look at your headstone, know that you lived and were loved, and say a prayer for you. Ashes scattered in the wind are gone forever, not like the dignity of even an old and forgotten grave.
I really enjoyed your take on the challenge. Looking at your photos, I am intrigued by the history that has to be attached to the people who lay there.
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