Perpetual GraveCare

31/10/2022

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28/06/2022

Just a wee reminder folks.

09/04/2022

Taken from Creative gardening page

21/03/2022

National Day of Reflection

On 23 March, let’s come together to reflect on our collective loss, support those who’ve been bereaved, and hope for a brighter future.

Since the first lockdown began in 2020, hundreds of thousands of people have died. Too many lives have been cut short and millions have been bereaved.

Behind the statistics and whatever the cause, every death has been devastating for the people left behind.

On 23 March, the second anniversary of the first UK lockdown, for a National Day of Reflection to reflect on our collective loss, support those who’ve been bereaved, and hope for a brighter future.

There are still tough times ahead, as the death toll continues to rise. This annual day will give us all time to pause and think about this unprecedented loss we’re facing, and support each other through grief in the years to come.

Join our minute of silence at 12 noon

Join Marie Curie for this moment of reflection, as guests share their thoughts, words and songs. Together, we’ll honour loved ones who have died and reflect on the challenges we have overcome. During this session we’ll pause to observe the national minute of silence at 12 noon. Register for the live online event

If you’d rather not join the online event, you can observe the minute of silence in a way of your choosing.

Shine a light at 8pm

At 8pm, a minute’s silence will be held and people can come together to light up the night. Stand outside with a light – a candle, a torch, even your phone – to remember someone who’s died and show your support to people going through a bereavement.

Alternatively you can shine a light in your window for everyone to see.

Share what you do on social media using .

04/03/2022

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Encouragement for those who have lost a loved one

31/01/2022

Traditionally on January 31st many Irish people make a St Bridget’s cross

February 1 marks a special time in the Irish calendar because it signals the end of winter and the beginning of spring. It’s also the feast day of St. Brigid, a patron saint of Ireland alongside St. Patrick and St. Columcille, so celebrations are in order! While customs during this day have evolved over the years, from placing bread on windowsills to lighting a bonfire, there is one aspect of it that has remained consistent over the years: St. Brigid’s Cross.

A SAINT’S BIOGRAPHY

Most historians would say that St. Brigid was born around 450 AD near Dundalk, Ireland. It’s debatable who her parents were, but the most popular version says that her father was Dubhthach, a pagan chieftain, and Brocca, a slave woman who became a Christian after being baptized by St. Patrick. Unfortunately, St. Brigid’s father sold her pregnant mother to a new master. Brigid was born into slavery and endured harsh treatment from slave owners while growing up. On the other hand, she was raised as a Catholic by her mother. Because she was constantly feeding and healing the pour, she developed a reputation for being kind and generous. Some accounts even describe how Brigid gave away her mother’s entire store of butter and replenished it through prayer.
Upon reaching 10 years old, she was brought back to live with Dubhthach and his wife. She continued to be charitable, donating her father’s possessions—much to his chagrin—to anyone who asked, including the poor. When he protested, she replied, “Christ dwells in every creature.” He grew increasingly enraged, considering her a lowly servant, and tried to sell her to the King of Leinster. As he negotiated with the king, she took her father’s rare and beautiful sword and gave it to a l***r. Her father was about to strike her when she explained that she had given the sword to God. The king was a Christian, and he stepped in, saying, “Her merit before God is greater than ours.”
Fed up with her, her father had her leave, and she returned to her mother who was in charge of the dairy for the kingdom. When Brigid took over, the dairy miraculously prospered even though she kept sharing it. Because of this, her mother was happily freed. St. Brigid returned once again to Dubhthach, who sought to marry her off. Her physical beauty attracted many suitors, but she turned them down and committed to remaining chaste. In fact, she took drastic measures by asking God to take away her beauty. Once she entered a monastery and made her final vows, her beauty returned.

Brigid’s life after she entered the church is shrouded in mystery, but it’s widely known that she founded a monastery in Kildare later on. Located above a shrine to her namesake goddess Brigid, it was called the Church of the Oak. The monastery would become extremely successful, partly because it catered to both nuns and monks as well as laypeople. Women back then didn’t have many communities for religious life, and St. Brigid was a pioneer who offered women the same resources for deepening their spirituality as were available for men. Another appeal of her monastery was its focus on manual labor through tasks such as dairy farming and raising sheep rather than on prayer alone. She traveled widely, gaining renown and spreading Christianity throughout Ireland, and many pilgrims sought her out. Her life ended in AD 525 when she was 75 years old. Her remains were kept along with those of St. Patrick and St. Columcille in Down.
Although she followed the classic framework for religious life, the anecdotes about St. Brigid are vivid and colorful. She was good friends with St. Patrick, even falling asleep during one sermon. More than 40 miracles were attributed to her. A favorite is when she asked the King of Leinster to give her land for building a convent. He jokingly agreed to give her as much as her cloak could cover, but her cloak somehow expanded to cover several acres of land! She was close to animals, and when she touched a cow, it was said to produce ten times more milk, even when it had been dry already. She also healed a man with leprosy, exorcised demons, tamed a boar, and calmed storms, among others.
While not everyone in Ireland can narrate St. Brigid’s biography, she has become a permanent part of Irish culture, such that her image is easily recognizable and traditions dedicated to her are still very much alive today. For the devout, the well where she had baptized people is still a pilgrimage site, and the wishing tree there remains lively with ribbons. Laypeople, on the other hand, content themselves with hanging her cross at springtime, and her legacy continues to be present in homes all over the country.

13/12/2021

Christmas around the world

Christmas Day Cemetery Visits

On Christmas day, the Irish visit cemeteries not just to pay respect to the dead, but to wish each other a happy holiday and maintain a sense of community. Honoring ancestors is very important to the Irish, so it is no surprise that Christmas, a family holiday, is about celebrating the living as well as the dead. Visitors replace old flowers with wreaths of holly and ivy, and some even leave notes and mementos at grave sites.

Norwegian Christmas Witches
In Norway, it is believed that witches and other evil spirits become more restless at this time of year. While many are busy laying out cookies and milk for Santa, Norwegians hide their brooms on Christmas Eve to ward off witches. As legend has it, witches will come to your home to steal your brooms to ride around in the night.

Witch Balls - 17th and 18th Century England

Witch Balls are hollow round glass ornaments that were originally hung in windows or around one’s home to ward off or even trap witches and evil spirits in 17th and 18th Century England. They were also popular with the settlers of New England, who sometimes filled them with holy water for added protection. Witch Balls are colourful and often have a string inside, resembling glass Christmas ornaments. The colorful balls were believed to attract the witch or evil spirit that would become trapped by the string inside. It is believed that today’s modern glass Christmas ornaments have a connection to these talismans against evil.

Spider Web Christmas Decorations - Ukrainian

Decorating Christmas trees with spiderwebs is apparently not just for goths! This is a common Ukrainian tradition that dates back to a Ukrainian legend where a poor mother had no decorations for her family’s Christmas tree. After the children cried themselves to sleep, a friendly spider got to work and spun fancy webs to decorate the tree. On Christmas morning, the family discovered that the webs turned to gold and silver in the sunlight. To this day, Ukrainians decorate their trees with spider webs to bring good luck and good fortune in the upcoming year.

Victorian Dead Bird Christmas Cards

Victorians are known for their bizarre and macabre Christmas Cards, but the one that stands out the most are those with images of dead birds. These cards usually feature either a dead Robin or a dead Wren. The Robin symbolizes the New Year, and the Wren the old. But why are they dead? One theory is linked to the sentimentality of Victorians, and how a dead bird may call to mind the common stories of children freezing to death at Christmas. This idea is covered by John Grossman in his book Christmas Curiosities: Odd, Dark, and Forgotten Christmas. There is also a connection to the Irish holiday Wren Day—a tradition we will cover below.

Christmas Eve Graveside Candle Lighting - Finland

On Christmas Eve in Finland, you can find families in cemeteries gathering to light candles, lay flowers and wreaths, and say small prayers for the dead. There are also special places within the cemeteries to light candles for family members buried far from home. This tradition is thought to date back to Pagan traditions around the Finnish harvest festival, kekri, but when Christianity came to Finland, this graveside candle lighting tradition moved to Christmas.

Feast for Souls in Portugal

In Portugal, there is a Christmas morning feast where sweets like ‘Bolo Rei’ (King’s Cake) are enjoyed. In this early morning feast, they set extra places for alminhas a penar, meaning “the souls of the dead”. Each family member gives an offering of food with the hope it will increase their good fortune. In some areas, crumbs are left on the hearth to ensure future bountiful harvests. After the meal, the dishes and remaining food are left on the table for dead ancestors to enjoy. We can get behind and Christmas Death Traditions with food!

Killing of a Wren

According to regional Irish tradition, December 26th, Saint Stephen’s Day, was celebrated by killing a Wren, placing it on top of a decorated pole, and taking it from house to house in a procession, singing and demanding money. This is known as “going on the Wren” or “Jenny Hunting”. The origins of this tradition are not clear, with some believing it is a direct reference to Saint Stephen himself, who was betrayed by a Wren, or to a legend involving wrens exposing hidden Irish villagers to the Vikings during a raid in the 700s. The last known tradition that involved a real dead Wren was in the 1930s in County Sligo and the Isle of Man. It is not celebrated widely today, but the Town of Di**le still holds on to the tradition.

22/09/2021

All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, Hallowmas (saints have historically been known as hallows) and Feast of All Saints, is a Christian celebration to honor all known (and unknown) saints and martyrs. It always falls on November 1. It is preceded by Halloween, its vigil, on October 31 and followed by All Souls' Day on November 2. Together these three days of remembering the dead form the triduum (a religious observance lasting three days) of Hallowtide or Allhallowtide.

People traditionally visit the graves of deceased relatives during this time. While All Saints' Day is dedicated to those who are in heaven, All Souls' Day is a day of prayer for those who have died but have not yet reached heaven.

In Eastern Christianity the Feast of All Saints is celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost, called All Saints' Sunday.

All Saints' Day is closely related to the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead (in Spanish "Día de los Mu***os") and the ancient Celtic seasonal festival Samhain to mark the end of the harvest and to remember the dead that is celebrated from sunset on October 31 to sunset on November 1.
https://www.calendarpedia.com/

22/09/2021

27/07/2021

There is no excuse for theft from graves and cemetery grounds.

Yet again Meigh cemetery suffered from theft at the weekend.

Many grieving families find great comfort in visiting cemeteries, they are places of peace and reflection”, or at least that’s what we like to think, yet Meigh cemetery has been hit by a spate of thefts, with ornaments, vases, lights and other tributes left by relatives snatched from gravesides.

I call the theft “grave-robbing” and a “hurtful thing.”

“I can’t even begin to imagine what type of life a person leads to where this would be an answer – to steal from someone’s grave, - I don’t think you can stoop any lower. It’s heartbreaking, and it hurts my heart, not only for the dead who have been robbed, but also for whomever commits this kind of act.”

No excuse can justify why anyone would think it is acceptable to carry out such an act.
TO steal sentimental items from someone’s grave is the lowest of the low.

Crooks who take items from graves no doubt know how much hurt and anguish it will cause, Yet still, they give not a second thought to swiping what they can.

"I find it hard to understand why they do it. There is no value there. The lantern & the plants they pilfered at the weekend was worth pennies but the heartache it caused is insurmountable.

t would be bad enough if this had happened just the once, but this is not the first time, for over the past five moths quite a few graves have been targeted, some twice or more often.

And the person who has been slowly removing the flowers in the community area by the bottom gate, replacing the top stones neatly to disguise their act has not gone unnoticed. Perhaps you feel those crocosmias etc. look better in your garden than in the cemetery. Of course, if you’re stealing from dead people, you either obviously have zero moral compass and things like ‘laws’ probably don’t mean much to you or you suffer from kleptomania, - people with this condition do not steal objects for their value, but rather to fulfill their urge to steal, in which case you need help and treatment.

There are no words strong enough to describe the people who are heartless enough to steal from someone’s grave or from cemetery grounds
Not only are they disrespecting the dead, but they are causing unmeasurable pain and upset to the families left behind.

It is totally unacceptable what is happening in the cemetery and I call on the community from the foot of Slieve Gullion to work together to bring an end to this anti-social behaviour and anyone with information to bring it to the police.

There is something wrong in the world if the place where we go to remember the dead is not sacred.

04/06/2021

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