Grave Matters: The Lamb

The second most popular and frequent symbol on a child's grave is the lamb. Lambs are used to denote innocence and can be commonly found on infants graves. They are also a reference to Christ as found in the New Testament in the Book of John, chapter 1, verse 29 "Behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world".

Christ is also referred to as the Shepherd in the bible for the way he led his flock of believers, and it also has ties the the Vernal or Spring Equinox when a lamb would be sacrificed during Easter, Passover or Ramadan in ceremonial rites. The grave pictured here is one from a local Washington cemetery. What makes this representation so unique is that it is made from cast Zinc, or "White Bronze. Gravestones such as this were commonly manufactured and sold through mail order catalogs such as Sears, Roebuck and Co, or they could also be ordered from the mortician who would then place the order during the arrangement process.