But that's not what this local Lancaster, Pennsylvania (near Mennonite and Amish communities) article is about. Apparently, they say, "Most cemeteries bury husbands on the south side of a burial plot, with their wives on the north." Of course it's never quite that simple:
The other key factor, [Bart Delp of Delp Monument Company] notes, is that headstones can face east or west. The direction they face makes a big difference. ...
But in most cemeteries, headstones face east, which puts husbands to the left of their wives. "To make matters even more confusing," Delp adds, "many cemeteries have stones facing both ways. And then there's Brunnerville United Methodist, which buries the man on the right regardless of which way the stone faces."
But, why? Why on Earth (or Heaven, I guess) does any of this matter?
Delp says he has met many cemetery caretakers who claim couples are buried that way so that at the rapture, when they rise out of the ground, they will be standing as they were when married.
That is, while the husband lies to the left of his wife, their heads are close to the headstones. So they would rise in reverse – the husband to the right side of his wife.
"Take this," Delp says, "for what it's worth."
And what's so Damn important about facing east?
"When the Lord comes the second time," [Sam Stoltzfus] explains, "He'll come from the East." So the dead will rise correctly in greeting.
Does it matter in which direction you are buried? I always felt I should be buried face down, with a good view into Hell.
But that's not what this local Lancaster, Pennsylvania (near Mennonite and Amish communities) article is about. Apparently, they say, "Most cemeteries bury husbands on the south side of a burial plot, with their wives on the north." Of course it's never quite that simple: But, why? Why on Earth (or Heaven, I guess) does any of this matter? And what's so Damn important about facing east?