I think it's a shame that more cemeteries don't let you leave mementos at gravesides. Sure, you can say it makes the upkeep difficult, but really? I think it takes more energy to remove something than leave it alone. Mementos give the grave personality. They help bring the deceased to life for someone who doesn't know them. They make you stop and take notice.
We visited a few cemeteries in New Orleans and I was always on the lookout for mementos. We heard stories of leaving pennies on children's graves so that they could buy penny candy. I left a few pennies myself. You have probably heard how people leave gifts on the Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau's tomb. The funny thing is that Laveau's tomb is being repaired and is fenced off to the public so people are being told that a different tomb is Laveau's and they are leaving gifts there. Another tomb houses the remains of a man who made shooting craps popular and there are dice on his tomb. Good stuff. Here are a few photos I took at St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 and No. 3. You can click on the photos to enlarge them.
My husband has several relatives buried in tombs in New Orleans. His uncle was a member of a Mardi Gras krewe and so the tradition is to leave a Mardi Gras doubloon under the urn at his tomb. When we visited there was a doubloon under the urn and we added one that we received during the Krewe of Boo Halloween parade we had watched the previous night. We wanted to let him know we were there. It's a good tradition. I wish more people had the opportunity to do something like this.
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