Memorial Day Overseas
Wow, Memorial day is tomorrow and to be perfectly honest until I started seeing all the Facebook posts I had not realized it was here. This is probably one of the more significant "holidays" to me other than Easter and Christmas. More so than Independence Day or even Veteran's day and the ever growing list of governmental holidays. So how did it get so close without me realizing it. Basically it is a lesser known USA holiday to the rest of the world. When overseas most folks recognize our Independence Day as something big to us and would say something when they saw us on the streets. I wonder how all the Germans, Australians and British feel about Tanzanians wishing them a Happy Independence Day on July 4th. Folks here don't seem to distinguish to well between where Muzungu's come from. If you are white you are going to have someone try and speak English to you. Of course that is fair since the real definition of Muzungu in most dictionaries is European not White person, but it actually used to mean someone who went around which describes most developed world folks I would think as folks going around to do things all the time.
I digress. I had let it slip up on me until I saw all the Facebook postings, which have amused me. There seem to be a lot about the wife at a grave and asking folks if they still think this holiday is about BBQ and in the Upstate SC where I am from, Hot Air Balloons? There are some that want to remind everyone that the holiday was started by former slaves after the Civil War to honor fallen Union Soldiers, though it is not included in most discussions of the origin of the holiday. For a good read about it check out Brian Hicks story in The Post and Courier at http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20090524/PC1602/305249938.
Memorial Day was not always known by this name, it started as Decoration Day. That day was officially established as May 30, presumably because flowers would be in bloom to be used for decorating the graves, in 1868 by a Major General John Logan. The actual start of the tradition for decorating the graves of soldiers has been claimed by about 25 different locations, most in the South. The majority of these locations were done by widows and mothers of the fallen who decorated the graves of Confederate soldiers and on several sites they decorated the graves of the Union soldiers because their graves were taken care of by the locals because they were considered to be the enemy. Yes it also my understanding that a group of children from the former slave community did a decoration ceremony for fallen Union soldiers so it is one of the 25 something sites laying claim to start of this holiday.
Congress in their infinite lack of wisdom along with President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, NY to be the official location in 1966 because business closed for their celebration in 1866 despite clear evidence that documents other locations were doing before the Waterloo location.
Many states from the south refused to participate in the "Union Decoration Day" and continued to celebrate on different days. It was not until after WWI that the country began to come together to honor those who had fallen for the United States of America (sorry as a world traveler it is hard for me to only say America anymore recognizing that there are a lot of countries that are part of South, North and Central America). In 1971 it became and official holiday through an act of Congress and was moved to the last Monday in May where it currently resides.
So the history lesson or my version of it ends here. What is Memorial Day about really and how to explain it a country that does not really honor those fallen for their country. Though they do have a national holiday to celebrate the assassination of former Vice President. I personally have a hard time with this because as I said at the beginning this is an important day for me to remember those who gave everything for us to be free.
How to explain how those friends of mine, brothers in arms, would get together when possible on this day while there were enough of us left to get together? We had our own ceremony to honor our brothers who were no longer with us. How to explain not being able to explain to a friends family how they died? How to explain that feeling when a Taps is played by a lone bugler at the grave of someone who died for you? How to explain the shock when the rifles are fired in a salute knowing the last sound they heard were of gunfire? How to explain that all those friends I got together with have been buried now because they kept fighting until the end?
I don't know how to explain these things, I just feel them. Tomorrow is not about the picnics, balloons, parades or even free food and Lowe's discounts. Tomorrow is something I still feel.
I digress. I had let it slip up on me until I saw all the Facebook postings, which have amused me. There seem to be a lot about the wife at a grave and asking folks if they still think this holiday is about BBQ and in the Upstate SC where I am from, Hot Air Balloons? There are some that want to remind everyone that the holiday was started by former slaves after the Civil War to honor fallen Union Soldiers, though it is not included in most discussions of the origin of the holiday. For a good read about it check out Brian Hicks story in The Post and Courier at http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20090524/PC1602/305249938.
Memorial Day was not always known by this name, it started as Decoration Day. That day was officially established as May 30, presumably because flowers would be in bloom to be used for decorating the graves, in 1868 by a Major General John Logan. The actual start of the tradition for decorating the graves of soldiers has been claimed by about 25 different locations, most in the South. The majority of these locations were done by widows and mothers of the fallen who decorated the graves of Confederate soldiers and on several sites they decorated the graves of the Union soldiers because their graves were taken care of by the locals because they were considered to be the enemy. Yes it also my understanding that a group of children from the former slave community did a decoration ceremony for fallen Union soldiers so it is one of the 25 something sites laying claim to start of this holiday.
Congress in their infinite lack of wisdom along with President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, NY to be the official location in 1966 because business closed for their celebration in 1866 despite clear evidence that documents other locations were doing before the Waterloo location.
Many states from the south refused to participate in the "Union Decoration Day" and continued to celebrate on different days. It was not until after WWI that the country began to come together to honor those who had fallen for the United States of America (sorry as a world traveler it is hard for me to only say America anymore recognizing that there are a lot of countries that are part of South, North and Central America). In 1971 it became and official holiday through an act of Congress and was moved to the last Monday in May where it currently resides.
So the history lesson or my version of it ends here. What is Memorial Day about really and how to explain it a country that does not really honor those fallen for their country. Though they do have a national holiday to celebrate the assassination of former Vice President. I personally have a hard time with this because as I said at the beginning this is an important day for me to remember those who gave everything for us to be free.
How to explain how those friends of mine, brothers in arms, would get together when possible on this day while there were enough of us left to get together? We had our own ceremony to honor our brothers who were no longer with us. How to explain not being able to explain to a friends family how they died? How to explain that feeling when a Taps is played by a lone bugler at the grave of someone who died for you? How to explain the shock when the rifles are fired in a salute knowing the last sound they heard were of gunfire? How to explain that all those friends I got together with have been buried now because they kept fighting until the end?
I don't know how to explain these things, I just feel them. Tomorrow is not about the picnics, balloons, parades or even free food and Lowe's discounts. Tomorrow is something I still feel.
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