Tag: Canadian Taphophile

Celebrate Cemetery Appreciation Month

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Did you know that May is Cemetery Appreciation Month?

I first learned about it in 2021, and I have been celebrating every year since. Cemeteries are often seen as taboo and they are not often the first place someone would think to visit, but I believe that cemeteries are for the living. They are filled with history, art, and architecture, and are wonderful places to go for a stroll, or bird watching, among other things. Yes, they are resting places for our loved ones and should be respected, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy their beauty as well. Cemeteries were the blueprints for today’s public parks, after all. 

So how do you celebrate? In 2021, I created a mini bucket list of things to do during the month to foster an appreciation for cemeteries. It was a nice excuse to spend more time outside. I had a lot of fun completing everything on my list. Some activities on my list included visiting a cemetery I had not visited before, and re-visiting a favorite local cemetery.

This year I wanted to do something a little different. I’m a graphic designer by trade and wanted to create something that would bring my two loves together—design and cemeteries. I was also inspired by a cemetery scavenger hunt I took part in last October. I thought it would be really fun to do something similar with my group of friends. 

So I thought why not design a Cemetery Bingo card? 

  • Cemetery Bingo Card
    Designed and illustrated by Chantal Larochelle ©2023

It’s a great activity to do in a group or solo and lets you explore the world of cemetery symbols. I created my cards using my cemetery photographs as a reference. I illustrated 40 symbols that are commonly found on gravestones. I included the name beneath the symbol as well, to help identify common motifs you might find while walking in a cemetery. 

To play, all you need to do is print out a copy, bring something to mark your cards, and go for a walk in your local cemetery. Match the symbols on the card to what you find on the gravestones. The first one to get a full line wins! You can make that two lines, or even a full card to make it a bit more challenging. I can see this being a fun tool to introduce your friends and family to cemeteries and help explore gravestone symbolism. It could also be a fun activity for kids. 

Please remember to be respectful when visiting your local cemeteries. For a guide on cemetery etiquette, you can read a previous blog post I wrote about the rules I follow when visiting a cemetery here.

  • Who wants to play Cemetery Bingo? Designed and illustrated by Chantal Larochelle ©2023

My friends and I will be going on a cemetery road trip very soon, and I think it will be a great opportunity to try out the bingo cards. We have a lot planned already, but I think we can fit in a round of Cemetery bingo. I’ll be sharing how our cemetery bingo plays out in my stories on Instagram on May 6th. 

Do you want to play too? You can download a set of 4 cards here, for free.

For best results, send this print-ready file to a local print shop, or you can print them at home on your home printer. Just be careful when you are trimming the pages. Then all you need are some markers, stickers, or bingo dabbers to mark off your finds and have fun! Make sure to tag me in your photos or stories on Instagram and Facebook. 

Happy Cemetery Appreciation Month!

Thanks for reading!

A Collection of Cemetery Flowers

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The winter weather seems to be dragging on this year. We got a lot of snow this winter in Northern Ontario, which I think is adding to this feeling. It feels like it will never all melt. I am trying to be optimistic, and am hoping to be hiking and visiting cemeteries soon. For the last couple of weeks, I have been focused on planning cemetery road trips, near and far. I am ready to get outside, it’s supposedly Spring after all!

The official first day of Spring was March 20th, so I wanted to share something a bit more colorful to help ring in the Spring season. Flower arrangements are often found on gravestones, in plastic, or made of fresh blooms. You might also find bright and vibrant cemetery flowers planted on graves or cemetery grounds. Each variety of flower holds a special meaning, that also varies by color. So for today’s collection, I wanted to share some cemetery flowers I have photographed over the years and take a look at what they might symbolize.

  • Shawinigan Cemetery, Shawinigan QC ©2012

These delicate light blue hydrangeas symbolize regret, apology, and forgiveness.1 Seeing them at a graveside or planted on a grave intensifies that meaning for me. 

  • Rea Cemetery, Mimosa ON ©2022

Daylilies bloom during the day and close up at night. Orange or yellow daylilies commonly symbolize love and devotion, as well as joy, beauty, and courage. A dark orange, or redder daylily like the one pictured, may symbolize a deep passion.2

  • Nairn Roman Catholic Cemetery, Nairn Centre ON ©2022

Lilac shrubs are one of the earliest plants to bloom in the Spring, and because of this, are thought to symbolize a fresh start and renewal.3 Pink lilacs commonly symbolize first love.4 I was able to capture this yellow swallowtail visiting this lilac bush. Yellow swallowtail butterflies represent grace and the free nature of the soul.5 Fitting since this photo was taken in a cemetery. 

  • Warren Catholic Cemetery, also known as St. Thomas Cemetery, Warren ON ©2009

Black-eyed Susans are a common sight here in Northern Ontario. They are also sometimes called brown-eyed Susans because of their dark brown-to-black centers. Black-eyed Susans are thought to symbolize resilience and endurance as well as justice and truth.6

  • St. John’s Cemetery, Garson ON ©2022

Begonias have a lot of symbolism tied to them, but are commonly seen as a symbol of uniqueness, gratitude, and harmony, but can also be a symbol of caution. Yellow begonias are thought to be a representation of hope, kindness, or friendship.7

I am still working on learning to identify different types of plants, in bloom and on gravestones. I find it fascinating that there is a meaning for practically everything! Looking at all these colorful blooms has got me excited to be visiting cemeteries and enjoying the sunshine soon. 

I hope wherever you are, you will be enjoying the sunshine soon as well if you’re not already. Happy Spring! 

Thanks for reading!

References:

  1. Hydrangea Meaning and Symbolism | Fresh Trimming
  2. Interesting Daylily Flower Meaning And Symbolism You Want To Know | Florgeous
  3. Lilac Flower Meaning And Symbolism | Florgeous
  4. Language, Significance And Symbolism Of The Beautiful Lilacs For Sale | Agriforest Bio-Technologies Ltd.
  5. Swallowtail Butterfly Natural History | Bug Under Glass 
  6. Black-eyed Susan Symbolism and Meaning | Symbolsage
  7. Ultimate Guide to Begonia Flower Meaning and Symbolism | Petal Republic

Blog updates & more…

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I realize I owe you all a blog post after missing last Sunday, but I don’t have anything that is quite ready to share with you yet. I have a few posts that I have been working on, but more research is needed. So instead, this will be an update, to share what I have been working on and what you can look forward to on the blog in the coming months. 

  • Blog updates and more

Most recently, I have been working on a piece inspired by Death’s Garden Revisited, edited by Loren Rhoads. My piece is about my own personal connection to cemeteries. After speaking with my Mother about the subject, it created more questions than answers. As we chatted we uncovered our own little family cemetery mystery, which sent me down yet another research rabbit hole. I’m sure you all will find that story very interesting. 

I have also been saving a cemetery story, especially for this month, as February is the anniversary of this local tragedy. I need a little more time to work through the research and sort through my photos from last summer’s road trip. That will be another post to look forward too.

Along with writing and creating content for the blog, I have also been taking an online course to sharpen my writing skills. The course is through Atlas Obscura and is called Historical Nonfiction: Research-based writing with Hadley Meares. This 4-week course promises to help you write historical essays using a research-based lens. I am on week 3 of the course and it has already solidified the good writing habits I already had while introducing new habits, methods, and resources to my writer’s toolbox. I look forward to sharing the article that comes from completing the course. 

Amidst all this writing I have also been updating the portfolio section of my website. I have posted many additions to my existing web portfolios and have added some new ones entirely. Sorting through, editing, and posting my archive of cemetery photos has been a great way to look back at all the cemetery adventures I have had over the years.

I have also been working on researching some new areas and cemeteries to visit. I have some great cemetery road trips already planned for this summer and can’t wait to get back on the road and photographing. I plan on visiting Owen Sound, for part two of Chasing Tom Thomson, while also stopping in at some fun interesting spots along the way. I also have another trip planned for early spring which will include my first visit to a loyalist cemetery, and seeing table stones in person. I’m pretty excited about that trip.

I have also been busy getting some submissions ready for a local photography contest, and a gallery showing. I am not quite sure how my cemetery work will be received, but I think they could be great opportunities to get my work out there, regardless of the outcome.

Hopefully, some of these upcoming posts sound interesting and will have you coming back to read more. As always, if you have any book or cemetery recommendations, or cemetery stories of your own to share, please leave me a comment or send me an email at hello@chantallarochelle.ca

Thanks for reading! 

A Collection of Doves

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This week, I had originally planned on posting a cemetery recipe for Red Lantern Cheese dip, from the gravestone of Debra Ann Nelson. But, I had some issues finding the correct ingredients and the recipe didn’t turn out as expected. So I will continue my hunt for the elusive ingredients. 

Instead, this week I will share a collection of Dove’s. If you have been following this blog for a little while, you may have noticed that I sometimes like to share collections of my favorite photos of some of the cemetery symbols I find on my cemetery walks. I have been photographing cemeteries for over 15 years, and in that time I have noticed some repetition of certain symbols and motifs. I find cemetery symbolism so interesting and love looking at what the different variations of a symbol mean.

Doves are not as common a symbol as lambs in Northern Ontario, but they represent similar ideas. Doves commonly are a symbol of peace, but when used in funerary art, they also represent innocence and the Holy Spirit. Doves may appear in many forms, such as sculpture or bas-relief. There are also different variations of doves, and each carries additional meaning.

  • St. John’s Anglican Cemetery, North Bay ON ©2019
  • Union Cemetery, Sturgeon Falls ON ©2021
  • East Oakwood Cemetery, Oakwood ON ©2022
  • Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Massey ON ©2022

Sometimes a dove may be depicted carrying something in its mouth. A dove with an olive branch in its mouth may represent peace. This symbolism also can be traced to Ancient Greece. A dove carrying a broken flower bud in its mouth often symbolizes a life cut short. 

  • Grandview Cemetery, Massey ON ©2022

The position and angle of the dove may have some significance as well. A dove flying downward is thought to represent the Holy Spirit coming down from heaven.

  • Locks Cemetery, Huntsville ON ©2022

Another variation of a dove you might find, is a dove that looks like it might be dead. A dead dove sadly represents a life cut short. This variation may also be found lying in front of, or on top of a tree stump; which is also a symbol of a life cut short.

  • Webbwood Protestant Cemetery, Webbwood ON ©2022
  • St. John’s Anglican Cemetery, North Bay ON ©2019
  • Calvin Township Public Cemetery also known as Union Cemetery Calvin Township, Eau Claire ON ©2022

Have you come across a different variation of this symbol? I would love to hear about it in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

References:

  1. Understanding Cemetery Symbols: A Field Guide for Historic Graveyards by Tui Snider
  2. Stories in Stone: The Complete Guide to Cemetery Symbolism by Douglas Keister

Year in Review – 2022

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2022 has been a very good year for Cemetery Photography by Chantal Larochelle!

I wanted to take this opportunity to look back at some of the highlights and achievements from this past year.

My biggest goal for 2022 was consistency. It has been an issue that I have struggled with for years. I finally found myself working and maintaining a consistent posting schedule on the blog. The top 5 most viewed posts on the blog this year were: Haunted Cemetery Road Trip – The Beck House, A Gift Guide for Taphophiles, My Local Haunted Cemetery, Finding the abandoned Happy Valley cemetery, and 25 Cemeteries in the City of Greater Sudbury. It’s an amazing feeling to share these stories with you, and grow this passion project of mine.

2022 was a year full of adventure! I visited 78 cemeteries this year and was able to break my record for the number of cemeteries visited in one day—15. A personal best! I visited my first pet cemetery and went on many fun and fascinating cemetery road trips. There are a few that stand out, like hiking through Algonquin Provincial Park and finding the first grave of Tom Thomson. That was a bucket list trip for me, and one of my biggest adventures so far. A lot of planning and research went into that trip, and the journey was incredibly worth it. Spending the night at the haunted Beck House was another highlight for me. Haunted holidays with my fiancé are always my favorite, but this year will be hard to top. This beautiful victorian style mansion is beautiful on its own, but its history makes it even more interesting. We had an amazing visit and made sure to pay our respects to the Becks, at their family mausoleum. I look forward to sharing more cemetery road trip adventures from 2022 but I am excited to see what 2023 will bring.

I am amazed at the following I have been able to foster on my social media channels. Over 2 000 followers on Instagram! Wow, what a milestone! Thank you to everyone who has liked, followed, commented, and shared my social and website posts. It means the world to me. I am so proud to be part of the online cemetery community, and love connecting with like-minded taphophiles. Because of this, I have branched out from Facebook and Instagram to Flickr and Pinterest as well. 

Cemetery Photography by Chantal Larochelle, Top Nine images on Instagram for 2022

This year has also been one of recognition! I am so thankful to all those who have shared my posts and photos. Not only was I featured in the March 2022 Ancestor Hunting newsletter, under Links we like. I was also asked by the Sudbury Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society to write something for their newsletter. My post Cemetery Symbolism in Sudbury District Cemeteries was published in the December issue of Ancestor Hunting. My Gift Guide for Taphophiles also garnered some attention and was shared in the Association for Gravestone Studies November e-newsletter. 

I feel that I am continuing to grow in my writing and am slowly finding my voice. I love sharing my cemetery adventures and am so happy that I have found an audience. I hope to continue my growth as a writer into the new year, by honing my skills and sharing even more stone stories and insights.

Thank you to everyone who has followed along with me on this journey! Sharing my passion for cemeteries with you all has been an amazing experience. I look forward to continuing to share my photography and adventures with you and seeing what 2023 will bring.

Happy New Year Everyone!