Category Archives: Symbolism

    Many organizations were founded in the later part of the 19th Century that required the prospective members demonstrate that their ancestors had been in the United States before a certain date or that their ancestors had served in a … Continue reading →

The star can represent the life of Christ and the Five Holy Wounds of Christ–one wound in each hand, a wound in each foot, and one in his side where Jesus was pierced to check to make sure he was … Continue reading →

The gravestone of Boston shopkeeper, Joseph Tapping, who died in 1678 at the age of 23, is one of the most famous in the city.  Just inside the gates fo the King’s Chapel Cemetery is his elaborate carved tombstone.   … Continue reading →

On the 1745 gravestone of Rebecca Sanders at the King’s Chapel Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts, a skeleton and Father Time circle around a candle, with the figure of death, the skeleton, ready to snuff out the flame.  The symbolism is clear, the candle represents the … Continue reading →

This strafed gravestone is the obvious target of a large Kamikaze bird with some gastrointestinal problems.  Unfortunately for me, and you the viewer, I was not equiped on my visit to the King’s Chapel Cemetery in Boston to wipe it … Continue reading →

  In the cemetery, much of the iconography represents a life ended—the winged death’s head, the hanging bud, the broken wheel, the incomplete circle, the column that is broken. The broken link of a chain, too, represents the life that … Continue reading →

Our deepest emotions are felt in our hearts.  The heart shape, which, by the way, looks nothing like the real human heart, is a symbol of many emotions including joy, courage, and sorrow, but most especially love.  Millions of cards are … Continue reading →

The delicate bellflower is a funerary symbol that represents gratitude.  The family name, Campanulaceae, is Latin meaning small bell.

The gravestone pictured above displays an open gate carved from limestone.  In this example, the open gates, which are central to the Last Judgment, are opened to a starred sky with a banner above that reads “AT REST”.  The gates … Continue reading →

 Our Little Eddie He has gone to his Heavenly home His favoraite Dog still watching his tomb. Some of my favorite memories as a child were spent with the dogs that we had while I was growing up. We had … Continue reading →