We were driving home from daughter's house on Monday when I asked my husband to wait at the stop sign so I could take a picture. In the field opposite us, two individuals were harnessing a white horse to a hearse with gold curtains.
There wasn't a casket in the hearse yet. It turns out there was a funeral at the church just down from the stop sign and just a short drive down from the church is a cemetery.
I took a walk when I returned home, keeping an eye on developments down the road. When I saw the familiar black hearse turn into the cemetery, I worried that the horse drawn hearse didn't work out. But as I watched from a discreet distance, other vehicles parked and individuals walked into the cemetery. And then finally, the horse-drawn hearse arrived.
I've never seen a horse-drawn hearse before except in movies. Here's what I found online about this tradition: "A horse-drawn hearse represents a bridge between the past and the present, bringing a sense of historical continuity and respect for tradition.The image of majestic horses leading a solemn procession evokes a bygone era, adding a layer of profound symbolism to the ceremony."
Or as my neighbor commented when I showed her the picture, "What a way to go!"
It certainly does evoke the past… and, really, “What a way to go!” You just never know what you will see as a day goes by.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought they were beautiful-the horses and adornments that are sometimes on the horses, the hearse is usually very ornate and being able to see the casket and floers through the windows is sobering. Glad you got a picture.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen anything like this either! I agree with your neighbor!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting! I've never seen anything like this before in real life. I can see why you were curious, and I like all the "keeping an eye on developments" and "watched from a discreet distance" you write as you tell us about it.
ReplyDeleteRamona, there's a story in my family about an ancestor taken to burial by a horse-drawn hearse carriage...I only have fragments of that story. The rest is lost in time. Not sure if the man died in the Civil War, WWI, or what, and we are talking about an impoverished area in the South, but apparently the horse knelt at this man's grave. I'd have been awed by this scene you describe - gold curtains in the carriage! - and would have wanted to know the story behind it: Who? Why? "Profound symbolism," indeed!
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