By Wendy Pierman Mitzel ~~~~~~~ It’s always surprising to me that Memorial Day is usually a big party instead of a solemn day of remembrance for the American soldiers who have died defending our freedom and freedoms of other peoples. I suppose we could say those men and women died for our right to slap a steak on the grill and we should show our appreciation by doing so. By all means, I say we should celebrate their lives with patriotism and the American way.
But since visiting other countries and learning about their customs it occurs to me that I, myself, should make more of an effort to really honor the day in the way it was intended.
“Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971,” informs the History Channel. We closed shops and schools and met to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers. We didn’t go out to buy mattresses at rock-bottom-prices.
So perhaps to assuage my own guilt over not taking the day seriously enough in the past, I am passing these bits of info along. And myself looking to teach my kids a bit of meaning behind the day off of school.
Here’s a few things you can do to honor the day:
Watch or take part in the Memorial Day Parade in your town or nearby. This is one event I recall from being a kid. Adding red, white and blue crepe-paper streamers to our bikes and cruising along behind the high school band and marching veterans. In Suffield we gather around the memorial and listen to speeches to end the parade. It helps to put it all in perspective.
Google a veteran’s cemetery nearby and take some flowers or a ribbon to place on the graves of those there. Maybe seek out the graves who have no family attending to them. Volunteer to help maintain the cemetery during the year. Or just take the kids and walk the local graveyard to find veteran resting places. http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/27/impact.memorial.day/
Watch this video, it only takes a moment. Show the kids. http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/memorial-day-history/videos/history-of-memorial-day
Read the President of the United States Memorial Day Proclamation http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/05/23/presidential-proclamation-prayer-peace-memorial-day-2014
Dedicate some time this weekend or in the future to volunteer at one of these organiztions:
http://www.uso.org/?_ga=1.134507698.2101898727.1400950801
And in the end, by all means, celebrate. Celebrate the freedoms these soldiers allow us to enjoy each day. Freedom of speech, the freedom to vote, the right to gather in protest, the right to gather in celebration. Throw that T-bone on the grill and enjoy. Jump into the first pool party of summer. But while doing so, remember why you can. America is an amazing country, I am proud to live here, and I thank all those, past and present, who protect me and my family.
(Just an aside, someone suggested to me once that schools should spend the day in session and focus all day on honoring soldiers. What do you think? Tell us here in the comments!)