During my last visit to the Netherlands, I was fortunate to visit a graveyard where several of my relatives are interred. I say fortunate, because in the Netherlands graves are routinely cleared after a few decades.
I was staying with a cousin whose home is only a few hundred metres from the Kerk van Sint-Joannes de Doper (Church of Saint John the Baptist – link is in Dutch). I walked past it every day. One afternoon my father and I, along with a few of our cousins, explored the church and the adjacent graveyard, Het Parochiële Kerkhof Sint Jan de Doper (The Parish Cemetery of Saint John the Baptist – link is to Find a Grave).
Here are a few of the graves of some of some of my extended family, several of whom I had the pleasure of knowing, including my great uncle, Nic van Kleef.
(As cemeteries are a big part of genealogy, it should come as no surprise that it forms a common theme for the 52 Ancestors Challenge. For Week 46 of the challenge in 2022, the theme was “Tombstones“.)
A Deck of Ancestors 
What is in the jars on Theo Van Kleef’s grave? Some of the other graves have items too, is this typical in The Netherlands? Thanks for sharing.
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That’s a great question. I don’t think I really clocked them. I’ll have to ask one of my cousins.
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My cousin confirmed my suspicion – they’re candleholders and lanterns that you can light. She told me the small red ones you see are common, they’re candleholders. The larger white ones aren’t common. Theo’s partner, who is Polish, had them put there, so my cousin thinks they might be something that’s more common in that country. They’re also lanterns or candleholders of some kind.
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It’s interesting to learn the traditions of other cultures. Thanks for following up!
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