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Do what the tradition calls for and bring a rock if you really must leave something.
Would not want to dig deep on this historically, but to carry a stone up to be placed on a cairn at the summit of a mountain is also a common practice in Japan, Korea, Tibet, etc.. I think that the marking of a passage is something deeply rooted in mankind and certainly much older than Christianity.Can't speak for Wales or Ireland but in Scotland, if not a custom as such, it is a common practice to carry a stone up to be placed on a cairn at the summit of a mountain.
As to a cairn being an aid to navigation and considering the weather patterns and cloud base in Scotland it would be about as much help as the proverbial chocolate sun dial!
As to a cairn being an aid to navigation and considering the weather patterns and cloud base in Scotland it would be about as much help as the proverbial chocolate sun dial!
Can't speak for Wales or Ireland but in Scotland, if not a custom as such, it is a common practice to carry a stone up to be placed on a cairn at the summit of a mountain.
As to a cairn being an aid to navigation and considering the weather patterns and cloud base in Scotland it would be about as much help as the proverbial chocolate sun dial!
My tags include personal info, like a social security number. Not sure leaving them would be wise.Was told that ex-military are leaving a set of their Dog Tags at the Cross of Iron since it is an old Roman Legion site.
Taking an old set to leave there.
There is a belief that cairn building is a fairly recent invention dating from Victorian or Edwardian times at best when people started both having leisure time and seeing hills as other than sheep grazing or shooting grounds.
"No Pasarán"!!! Spit on Franco's grave and leave them on the memorial from the Civil War just before Cruz de Ferro!Was told that ex-military are leaving a set of their Dog Tags at the Cross of Iron since it is an old Roman Legion site.
Taking an old set to leave there.
I like the rock tradition. I try to be respectful when people leave other, random things because I like to assume they felt it was soooooooo important to them. But I really hope it doesn't become a "tradition" to leave dog tags, or any other specific item. The tradition really is rocks/pebbles....
Cross of Iron was built for soldiers; Viet Nam Memorial was built so civilians could feel good.
BYW--- also put a piece of Pennsylvania Anthracite on the pile; had no idea they mine anthracite near Sarria.
Was told that ex-military are leaving a set of their Dog Tags at the Cross of Iron since it is an old Roman Legion site. ...
Cross of Iron was built for soldiers; ...
... The cross was added by a local bishop Gaucelmo to Christianize an old Celtic/Druid spot. Just as many pilgrims today stop here to pray and meditate, so too did pre Christian peoples who stopped here to rest. ...
As an avid bushwalker we really dislike cairns unless they are for directions. They are built by vain people who wish to leave a mark where they have been. We left no stones anywhere on the Camino.
As a Vietnam Vet myself, I find it sad that a fellow veteran would want to leave something so important at the cross. The Cross is starting to look like a rubbish dump.
Hi Sybille, this quote 'the cross was placed there in the early eleventh century by Gaucelmo, abbot of the lodgings at Foncebadón and Manjarín. Later Galician crop reapers would be on this path on the way to the farmlands of Castile and León, where they went to work. Those who continued the tradition by placing a stone along path, then called it Cruz de Ferro.'May I ask what is your evidence to support this? SY
I agree. When I wrote that it starts to make sense to me for the first time, I meant to say it starts to make sense where this confusing and contradicting mixture of beliefs or explanations comes from which makes up the modern narrative about the Cruz de Ferro/Fierro/Hierro in particular that is so often found in blogs and modern guidebooks.
And I am very tempted to order Mille fois à Compostelle.
Ditto, ditto, ditto, Scott!I have been very disappointed with the conduct of walkers and the trash left behind at Cruz de Ferro. These articles of possession may be important to walkers but I'm not convinced this is where they should be left. This is a solomn place, leave your stone or leave your prayer, it is sad to see thousands walk over the past prayers of so many. Past two walks I haven't even stopped because of the behavior of people wanting to be part of a scene.
I brush them off and sit down for a rest.I get annoyed when I find stones piled on top of the flat topped concrete distance markers. Without the stones they are the perfect height on which a weary pilgrim can perch.
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