Why Do People Put Crosses On Top Of The Graves

Some hundred years ago, in a very far-off village, there lived a poor couple whose names were Jose and Petra. They were so poor there were days when they simply had nothi to eat. At times Jose and Pedtra envied the fowls of the air and the wild animals of the forest for they could easily find food and never need to suffer from hunger. Yet in spite of all the hardships they faced, they never lost their faith in God. Every day they pray together so that God will continue to bless them.

One evening, while Jose was reciting his prayers fervently, an angel of the Lord appeared before him and instructed him to go up to the third mountain the next morning to look for a native plant. He was cautioned to dig up the plant, take good care of it and never destroy any of its roots for there were gold pieces underneath that would make him and his wife wealthy.

The following morning, Jose did as the angel instructed him. When he returned, his wife was surprised to see the vast wealth he had brought down from the mountain. Jose excitedly revealed to his wife all the wonderful things that happened and led to his discovery of the wealth.

From that time on, the couple lived in comfort and luxury, However, Jose thought that all these wonderful things would end up when he dies. So he did not wish to die.

Jose told his wife that it would be better to look for a new place where they would live forever, where death is unknown. At first, Petra was reluctant and she told Jose that everything in this world ends and it's only God who had the control of their life. Jose in turn was disappointed so he left alone. He traveled for two months.

Indeed, he was able to find a place where death is unknown so he fetched his wife and they decided to live in that place. Years passed the couple still lived a luxurious life.

One cold evening, Jose heard a mysterious voice calling his wife. He told his wife to stop responding to the voice. Petra decided to open the door and to Jose's dismay, Petra jumped out the window. Jose hurriedly looked for Petra, but he couldn't find her. From then on Jose became lonely for he lost his wife. No matter how rich he was, he could not enjoy it anymore. Many years had passed and Jose was an old man.

One day Jose had a haircut. The barber noticed that Jose was not answering his questions. He was shocked to see that Jose was talking to himself, his image in the mirror. Jose suddenly grabbed the scissors and ran away. The barber ran after him and to his surprise Jose jumped into the cliff.

Feeling sorry for Jose, the barber told what he witnessed to the townsfolk. Looking down from the cliff, the people found many graves below. The people concluded that all the people who were buried were called by the mysterious voice. Even more surprising, they found white crosses on top of the graves.