Many rural community cemeteries hold "decorations." A decoration is a religious service in the cemetery when people decorate graves to pay respect to the dead. Each cemetery holds its decoration on a traditional calendar day – say, the fourth Sunday in May. As Decoration Day approaches, people go to clean, repair, mow, and weed their community cemetery. Leaning or fallen headstones are re-sited. If the site uses gravel, the gravel may be supplemented or rearranged. Next we decorate the graves with flowers.
The early part of the decoration proper focuses on final dressing of the graves as people mingle, socialize, and reflect on loved ones buried there. Then the service begins, followed by a sermon, dinner on the grounds, and then more gospel singing in the afternoon. The formal program then dissolves into more private and small-group visiting and reflecting on the cemetery. There are variations of this pattern, but the overall pattern is fairly consistent.
Bankhead Cemetery is incorporated as an Association. Anyone can be a member. Donations are accepted.
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