This is an old custom that is, thank God, still kept by many. Here you can see in typical Yekke style the care and result of the decorations from Kehal Adas Jeshurun (KAJ) aka Breuer’s Shule in the United States. Of course it’s not the exclusive domain of Yekkes, but certainly a hallmark of Shules that daven Nusach Ashkenaz. It is absent in Chabad and elsewhere, and I missed it, being limited in my movements due to my broken ankle and ribs.
pitputim 