Lest We Forget
Today is Memorial Day.
Originally called Decoration Day, it began in the wake of the US Civil War (War Between the States, War of the Rebellion), when various organizations began decorating the graves of soldiers with flowers to honor their sacrifices.
In time, as the US became involved in other wars, it became a holiday for remembering all those who have died in the service of their country. By the time I was old enough to remember the annual trips to the family plots in the cemeteries of Young America Township in Edgar County and Ohio Chapel in Clark County (both in Illinois), it had become a general day to honor those who have gone before us, although veterans' graves still received special honors, usually a flag placed beside them.
I still remember older family members' disapproval when it stopped being observed on May 30, but on the last Monday of May. They considered it disrespectful, since it was clearly intended to give office workers a three-day weekend.
On the other hand, it did make it easier for my father's family to get together on the Sunday beforehand. We'd never get there in time for the carry-in dinner, but the dishes would still be spread on the big old-fashioned dining-room table and sometimes we'd get a nibble or two. One of Dad's cousins would bring a portable TV to watch the Indy 500, so there was an element of the family-party holiday to it -- but there was also an awareness of the original meaning of the holiday, as the older men would talk about the War (World War II in those days, although a few of the younger men had been in Vietnam).
That house is now long gone (it was already empty by the time I could remember), and many of the people I remember from those days have gone on to their reward. But I still have fond memories of those days.
Originally called Decoration Day, it began in the wake of the US Civil War (War Between the States, War of the Rebellion), when various organizations began decorating the graves of soldiers with flowers to honor their sacrifices.
In time, as the US became involved in other wars, it became a holiday for remembering all those who have died in the service of their country. By the time I was old enough to remember the annual trips to the family plots in the cemeteries of Young America Township in Edgar County and Ohio Chapel in Clark County (both in Illinois), it had become a general day to honor those who have gone before us, although veterans' graves still received special honors, usually a flag placed beside them.
I still remember older family members' disapproval when it stopped being observed on May 30, but on the last Monday of May. They considered it disrespectful, since it was clearly intended to give office workers a three-day weekend.
On the other hand, it did make it easier for my father's family to get together on the Sunday beforehand. We'd never get there in time for the carry-in dinner, but the dishes would still be spread on the big old-fashioned dining-room table and sometimes we'd get a nibble or two. One of Dad's cousins would bring a portable TV to watch the Indy 500, so there was an element of the family-party holiday to it -- but there was also an awareness of the original meaning of the holiday, as the older men would talk about the War (World War II in those days, although a few of the younger men had been in Vietnam).
That house is now long gone (it was already empty by the time I could remember), and many of the people I remember from those days have gone on to their reward. But I still have fond memories of those days.