Celebrating Decoration Day: A rural Jefferson County tradition [PHOTOS]

This past Mother’s Day weekend was Decoration Day at the historic Bivens Chapel Cemetery in Brookside, Alabama.

Bham Now visited the cemetery on Saturday to witness one of Alabama’s oldest traditions.

Why we have Decoration Day

Despite an unrelenting rain that lasted all day, cars kept entering the nearly two-century-old cemetery in rural Jefferson County. 

Visitors popped their hatchbacks or reached into their back seats and pulled out flower arrangements and—on occasion—some mementos. With umbrellas in hand, they walked solemnly to a loved one’s gravesite to reverently lay down flowers, makeshift crosses and even American flags.

Decoration Day occurs throughout rural Alabama between March and September. 

According to Alabama folklorist Joey Brackner, it is about honoring your ancestors, maintaining the private cemetery and “coming home.”  

“It (Decoration Day) originated due to the need to maintain these landscapes before the age of grass and lawn mowers. The preferred method back then was just simply to scrape all the vegetation off the ground and leave it as bare earth. By the 1970s and 80s, the remaining bare cemeteries began to be grassed and maintained by landscape guys.

Now, typically, if you go to an old country cemetery, you’ll see a sign with rules posted about the date of Decoration Day. Rules about leaving flowers, and something about an endowment fund. There is a maintenance fund that you can contribute to.”

Joey Brackner, Alabama folklorist

After the gravesites are decorated on Saturday, picnics and other gatherings are traditionally held the next day on Sunday. A homecoming.

Brackner said these events became more and more meaningful over the years when rural folks started gravitating to the cities and surrounding states.

A rainy Decorations Day at Bivens Chapel Cemetery

Because of the rain over the weekend, the caretaker we met at Bivens Chapel Cemetery wasn’t sure if there was going to be a gathering or picnic on Mother’s Day. 

The resting place of soldiers who had fought in the Revolutionary and Civil War, both the historic section of the Biven Chapel Cemetery and the newer site on the hillside are beautifully maintained.

Below are videos and photos of the site. 

if you would like to help upkeep the Bivens Chapel Cemetery, send a donation to:

Bivens Chapel Cemetery

℅ Sandra Burr

1080 Timberwood Trail

Birmingham, Alabama, 35214

To learn more about Decoration Day in Alabama, watch this 2014 Alabama Public Television show with Joey Brackner visiting various cemeteries across the state.

Have you participated in Decoration Day in Alabama? Tell us your favorite memory on social media by tagging us at @bhamnow