A graveyard is a place where a person is laid to rest after death. It can be either a church or non-church cemetery.
Unlike natural burial grounds, cemeteries typically have set visiting hours and gates that close after those hours. Graves are usually marked with a memorial plaque or headstone. Some war graves are marked with timber remembrance crosses.
Location
In the past, graveyards were typically associated with a church. People who were buried there were usually church members or expressed a desire to be interred within the church upon their death. However, as populations rose and church burial grounds began to fill up, more modern separate cemeteries were established to deal with the growing need for more space.
The distinction between the terms graveyard and cemetery is primarily a matter of location. A graveyard is located on or near a church, while a cemetery is not. This is important because when people use the term graveyard to mean a resting place that is not connected to a church, it can lead to confusion and miscommunication.
As a result, it is best to avoid using the term graveyard in such cases. The word cemetery better describes a more modern burial ground that is not associated with a particular church. These places tend to be much larger, more centralized, and better maintained than the graveyards on the church property.
Types
Traditionally, graveyards were often small and contained only the tombs of one family or group of people. This is different from a cemetery which can be far more expansive and include multiple burial plots for varying faiths.
In general, graveyards are often superstitious places with legend and mystery attached to them, especially in older cultures. Historically, some people believed that if a dead person was not properly buried their spirits could roam and cause havoc on Earth. For this reason, it was a common practice for dutiful Asian sons to fly their parents back home for reburial in the ancestral graveyard.
In modern times, it is rare to see a graveyard that is associated with a church as most have moved away from the idea of church-controlled burial grounds and towards cemeteries that are independent of any specific religion. There are also now many “natural” or green burial graveyards that allow for natural decomposition and early re-use of the land.
Etymology
In the Middle Ages, burials were firmly under church control and could only take place on consecrated church grounds. A graveyard was a part of the churchyard where members of the less-privileged congregation were buried, often in individual crypts.
When a cemetery becomes full, it can be difficult to add new graves. Consequently, older graves may be reused. This causes distress to descendants of those who were buried in those graves.
Generally, the re-use of grave sites requires that any monuments or headstones be removed. This is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process that must be done with great care to avoid damage to the bones.
The re-use of graves can also be complicated by the difficulty of locating living relatives of those who were buried in those sites. Public notices can help to address this issue, but it is often impossible to reach descendants who live far away. Those who choose natural burials are generally more likely to allow the early re-use of their grave sites as they return quickly to nature.
History
Historically, graveyards were attached to churches or their chapels. This was largely due to the fact that burial services generated a substantial income for churches and their priests. When the village people wanted to bury their dead, they would have to apply to the church for permission to do so. This often involved a long and potentially dangerous journey to the church.
People who could afford to commission a stonemason would have their loved ones’ names, dates of birth and death and other information carved on a headstone and set up over the grave. The more writing and symbols on the headstone, the more expensive it was.
As populations in Europe grew, it became apparent that church burial grounds were no longer sufficient. Completely new places for burials, independent of graveyards, began to appear- these were called cemeteries. In some countries a cemetery still retains a folklore aura and is viewed by some, especially at night times, as an altar for supposed black magic ceremonies or thrilling sex encounters (like that experienced by Imrie in episode one of Black Mirror). A number of these cemeteries have fallen into disrepair due to a variety of reasons including neglect, weed invasions, industrial development or the racially segregated Jim Crow Era.