Cemetery Superstitions

Does the idea of wandering through the cemetery by the light of the moon send shivers up your spine? Do the rows of tombstones seem to hide restless and jealous spirits? Maybe you watch your step, careful not to disturb the dead by treading on their graves. Many people hold their breath while driving past a burial ground, or 
The burial ground is the domain of the deceased and a place where they hold power over the living. Visitors with heartbeats must take care if they wish to avoid upsetting the locals and becoming permanent residents themselves. Across cultures, people have developed superstitions to help them feel in control over the whims of fate, luck, and especially death. 

HIDE YOUR THUMBS

In Japanese, the word oyayubi literally translates to ‘parent finger’ and refers to the thumb. Since the thumb is associated with parents, there is a superstition about hiding one‘s thumbs when near a funeral, hearse, or cemetery. Exposing the thumb around the dead can invite evil spirits and lead to the early death of one’s parents. 

BURIAL IS IN THE DETAILS

In some Voodoo traditions from New Orleans, the devil is in the details. If the coffin arrives at the cemetery but burial is delayed due to an overlooked detail, such as a too-small grave, then it means the dead is choosing the next to die from the waiting mourners. 

IT’S RUDE TO POINT

Pointing is considered rude in many different cultures, but pointing at graves or graveyards is more than rude in Turkish culture. The finger that points at the grave will become thin and frail. Stealing is considered even ruder by most and has a correspondingly harsher penalty. Anyone who steals from the dead or chops down a tree from a graveyard will become paralyzed.

WHICH WAY TO THE EXIT?

In Russia, mourners take a different path out of the cemetery after the burial as the one they came in. This is a tactic for confusing spirits and preventing them from following the mourners home. Sometimes people will also throw small sticks over their shoulders to trip following spirits. Once home, it is also important to throw away the handkerchief used during a funeral, or else tears will follow you into your home. 

YIN AND YANG

Chinese Taoism is centered on a balance of polar energies called yin and yang. Cemeteries are an extension of the world of the dead, the yinjian, and the opposite of the yangjian, or the world of the living. Keeping the yinjian and yangjian separate is essential in keeping the balance, which is why religious Chinese are very careful about cemeteries. Sick people, who are low in living yang energy, should stay away from cemeteries and the concentration of yin energy there. Children also should not spend too much time in cemeteries but for a different reason. Children have better eyesight which means they might see, and be seen by, spirits. 

METEOROLOGY MYTHOLOGY

In English and New England culture, the weather can be related to the burial ground in a few different ways. Rain falling in an open grave foretells another death in the family before the year is over. Thunder after a funeral is a favorable sign that the deceased has arrived in heaven, but thunder during the funeral is a much less positive sign about their deathly destination. Two traditional New England expressions predict future deaths in the community: “A hot May makes a fat graveyard” and “A green Christmas makes a full churchyard.” The idea for both is that unseasonable or fluctuating weather leads to sickness and death.

References

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/japanese/japanese-superstitions/
Hearn, Lafcadio. “New Orleans Superstitions.” Harper’s Weekly (1886): 843.
www.ci.missoula.mt.us/DocumentCenter/View/8206/Cemetery-Folklore?bidId=
Johnson, Clifton. What They Say in New England: A Book of Signs, Sayings, and Superstitions. Lee and Shepard, 1896.
www.burialplanning.com/blog/2016/oct/14/5-superstitions-about-funerals-and-cemeteries/
www.kultur.gov.tr/EN-98566/good-luck–bad-luck.html
www.sixthtone.com/news/1003043/to-religious-chinese%2C-cemeteries-are-of-grave-importance
perfectfuneralplans.com/russian-funeral-traditions/