The first funeral I attended, I was very young, maybe five. It was my great grandfather’s funeral. He was dressed in black and white and had coins on his eyes. I asked my mother why, and she didn’t know. When she asked her mother, she told her it was payment so the soul could cross over. Now I understand the tradition comes from ancient Greece. The coins were payment for Charon, the ferryman who rowed souls across the River Styx. The coins also weighed the eyelids shut. Little known fact: now we tape or gently glue the eyelids shut because, in death, the body’s muscles relax and the eyelids don’t close all the way. The coin says, you are paid in full and can leave here without fear and get where you are going. It is a small grace for helping loved ones cross over.
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Jasmine on the Grave 
That is a beautiful memory and an interesting story.
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It was a personal historic event for me. I’m glad it landed in beauty, thank you.
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