Memorial Day
Today as we grill out and enjoy the nice weather, we need to remember the fallen, who have given their lives protecting this country from forces both foreign and domestic. Memorial Day has changed through the years, but the history of remembering is deeply rooted in our Union:
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University's Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860's tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.
Have a good Memorial Day.
See what other people are up to on Flickr by checking out these two tags: Memorial Day & Memorial Day Weekend.
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This is the permanent home of Memorial Day. I wrote this post at 22:58 on May 29, 2006. This post is part of grubbykid.com, a weblog. If you liked this entry, why don't you read some other posts such as President Al Gore on SNL or The world's most important 6-sec drum loop? Or you could go to the site archives or return home. All are good choices.
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Some descriptive tags for this entry are: Memorial Day Union USA culture remember.
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Some descriptive tags for this entry are: culture, Day, Memorial, remember, Union, USA.
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