Fallen Warriors Memorial--Houston from their Facebook page |
I started thinking about that, for other holidays as well.
Presidents Day was one; we no longer celebrate the birthdays of Lincoln and
Washington on their actual February birthdays, learning about them in school
classes and elsewhere. Instead we have a holiday for family vacations, a brief
college break, an extra shopping day, during which we have pretty much nothing
in the way of traditional ceremony reminding us of those two extraordinary
presidents.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, celebrated on a Monday
in mid-January, came after the change, so has never been truly connected to his
actual birthday. Having a holiday for a single American, no matter how
influential, seems odd when we only bunch our greatest, and all, presidents
some Monday in February. It’s better when the day is referred to as celebrating
equal rights or something—something worth teaching about in schools. But again,
it’s a day off from schools, with very little in the way of traditional
celebrating.
We tend to keep traditions alive better when they are date
specific, rather than a convenient Monday. Christmas tends to be full (overfull,
at times) of traditions. The Fourth of July, Independence Day, could hardly be
celebrated on a different day, and it does retain traditional parades,
fireworks, and brass bands in addition to summer cookouts and family time
together.
Thanksgiving is on a changing date, but always the fourth
Thursday of November; it remains full of tradition. It can be anywhere from a
single day off during the week to a four-day or even seven-day vacation. Easter
is day specific as well, a certain Sunday after the spring equinox. There’s
enough meaning attached that we
get together for traditional family celebrations whether we get time off or not. So it’s possible, even
without specific dates. But the three-day weekend does seem to have lessened,
rather than increased, our ability to pay attention to the purpose of special
days.
What if we had kept Memorial Day on its original May 30th?
Would we remember it is as something much more than the first good cookout day
of summer? Would we meet together somewhere in reverence, at a cemetery or
monument, and tell stories of fallen heroes? Would we remember how solemn this
day is, compared to July 4th, and compared to Veterans’ Day? I don’t
know. And I don’t suppose it’s likely we’ll go back.
But here in Texas we say, “Remember the Alamo,” and of the
current war against radical Islamists who attacked us 9-11-2001, we say, “Never
forget.” Memorial Day was officially instituted after the Civil War, to honor soldiers who
had fallen on both sides, so we would never forget their sacrifice that brought
us toward full freedom, and all the soldiers since who have made that ultimate
sacrifice.
On a personal note, 32 years ago, on Memorial Day, after I
had decorated graves at the cemetery with my family, I drove the
hour home and went to a church activity—and met Mr. Spherical Model. [When he
tells it, he says we met in a dark bathroom, which, while accurate, begs for a
lot of explanation. You’ll have to ask him sometime.] So the day has an added,
happy reason for remembering.
We plan to see grandkids, have some Texas barbecue, and
enjoy the Monday off. I expect many of you will do the same. But I hope we can
all also do some grateful remembering.
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*The link had video/audio of three mournful but beautiful pieces of music honoring fallen soldiers, worth listening to.
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