Jewish Mourning Stones

Did you know that Jewish people exclude flowers from the mourning process? There are 3 reasons why it is like that:
1. Tradition: Jewish people originate from the desert so they never had flowers and thus never incorporated them into their traditions.
2. Equality: Jewish people believe in equality in death which means they believe everybody regardless of education, financial status or class should have the same farewell.
3. Flowers wilt and die so giving someone something that will eventually die when trying to cheer them up is a little strange.
With those reasons explained, people tend to make a charitable donation towards something with more longevity that will commemorate the deceased person's life. Traditionally when sitting Shiva (mourning after someone is buried) people would give stones or rocks but nowadays, Jewish people offer support in other ways like giving food or spending time with one another. How do they memorialise someone with stones you ask? Well, they would place small stones, rocks or pebbles on the deceased's grave to signify that the person has been visited and serves as a lasting memory of the individual. While flowers are seen as an apt symbol of passing, representing the brevity of life, stones serve as a better metaphor for the persistence of memory... Stones do not die. An example of this practise can be seen in the final scene of Schindler's List as Oskar Schindler's grave is decorated with the pebbles that the survivors of Schindlerjurden (Jews that were saved by Schindler during the Holocaust) and the actors who portrayed them in the film who have come to remember him.
Mount Sinai, a Jewish cemetery in Los Angeles provides small limestones pebbles from Jerusalem for visitors to place on the graves of their loved ones. The packet the stones come in reads:
"Leaving a small pebble as a token of a visit is a Jewish family tradition is generations old. These soft limestone pebbles are from the Holy City of Jerusalem. We encourage you to leave one as a symbol of your visit today. Be assured that they will neither scratch nor damage memorial tablets."