Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington NJ: Flower Rules, Hours and Finding a Grave

Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum in North Arlington is one of the Catholic cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Newark. If you are planning a visit, or want flowers placed there, here is what the cemetery itself says, checked against its official site.

Where it is and when it is open

• Address: 340 Ridge Road, North Arlington, NJ 07031.
• Gates: open seven days a week, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with later closing on Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, Mother's Day and Father's Day, and on Wednesdays from mid-April to mid-September.
• Mausoleums: open daily 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM, and may close early in bad weather.
• Cemetery office: (201) 997-1900, weekdays and Saturday mornings. The mausoleum office is (201) 997-5763.

Finding a grave at Holy Cross

The archdiocese has an online search at rcancem.org/find-loved-one, where you can search by name, year of burial and cemetery. The cemetery also publishes a printable map. With a section and grave number in hand, the office can point you the rest of the way. Our guide to finding a grave in a cemetery covers reading section markers once you are there.

What you can leave at the grave

The decoration rules apply at all the archdiocese's cemeteries. Allowed:

• Fresh or silk flowers in a self-draining vase.
• Annual plantings in a bed no deeper than 12 inches and no longer than the memorial.
• One solar or battery vigil light, with no glass.
• One religious statue of durable material (not glass or porcelain), except in flat marker sections.
• American flags from Memorial Day through Flag Day and on Veterans Day.

Decorations must sit within 12 inches of the front of the monument and no wider than it. Not allowed: shrubs or rose bushes, glass or porcelain, wax or votive candles, landscape lights, fencing or border stones, shells, shepherd's hooks and wind chimes.

The four clean-up dates

Holy Cross clears all decorations from graves and private mausoleums on set dates each year: January 15, the second Monday after Easter, June 21 and November 16. Anything you want to keep should come home before those dates, and anything outside the rules is discarded without notice.

The practical takeaway for this time of year: flowers placed in late October or early November will be cleared on November 16. For Thanksgiving and Christmas, plan for placement after the fall clean-up.

Before you go

Rules can change, so check with the cemetery office if anything is unclear, especially for a mausoleum crypt, where the posted rules say less. Our cemetery etiquette guide covers the rest.