I'm really tired of hearing

"SALE THIS WEEKEND! IT'S MEMORIAL DAY!"
and
"Let's all party! It's Memorial Day!"

so, I thought I would attempt to set the record straight on what the day is about. For our non-US members, this might be a good lesson in an American observance. (And, for our US members, it might be a good reminder of exactly WHY we're honoring the day - and it's not good deals on cars or furniture.)

Quote:

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Every year, on the last Monday in May, Americans observe Memorial Day. Originally called "Decoration Day," Memorial Day is a holiday that commemorates those who have died in battle while serving in the U.S. armed forces. Memorial Day is often confused with Veteran's Day, which is celebrated in honor of all living soldiers and sailors who have served in an American war. Veteran's Day is observed on the second Monday in November.









Historians have traced the origin of Memorial Day back to the American Civil War, when Union soldiers from the North battled Confederate soldiers from the South. They fought one another over whether the United States would remain one country, or be divided in two. Union soldiers, dressed in blue uniforms, fought to keep the country united, as the North wanted. Confederate soldiers from the South wore gray, and opposed the Union because they wanted the nation to be divided in two countries. Since the Civil War was simply about Americans fighting amongst themselves, it wasn't unusual for members of the same family to fight against one another.








The American Civil War began in 1861 and dragged on for four years, until 1865. In the end, the Union prevailed and the nation remained united. Although the end of the fighting brought great relief and peace to many, it was also a time of intense grief. Thousands of soldiers lost their lives and those who survived, often returned home to hear that their fathers, brothers and other relatives had been killed in the war. Others suffered from injuries inflicted during the war and had to learn to live without a hand, a foot, or a limb. In addition, many Confederate soldiers discovered that their homes had been burned to the ground during one of the many battles fought in the South.









The origin of Memorial Day observances is still disputed. Although the government has designated one town as the founder of Memorial Day, historians agree that several communities began practicing similar Memorial Day traditions at the same time. Following the end of the war, people across the country decorated the graves of Civil War soldiers with flowers and flags, held special services for the deceased with songs and speeches, and honored the dead in other solemn ways. One of the first communities to do this was Waterloo, New York. As soldiers began to return home, a druggist named Henry C. Welles decided that Waterloo should hold a celebration to honor those who had fought and died in the war. He suggested that the graves of Civil War soldiers be decorated, and that the men who survived be honored with a parade. With the help of local officials and townspeople, Welles organized one of the first Decoration Day celebrations. It was held on May 5, 1866.







Another important figure in establishing the official observance of Memorial Day was General John A. Logan. He organized a group of Union veterans from the North called the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). On May 5, 1968, General Logan issued an order to all GAR members. It designated May 30 as a day to honor those who died in the Civil War by decorating the graves of soldiers and sailors from the North and South. General Logan called it "Decoration Day." As a result of the order, Waterloo and other communities throughout the country soon began celebrating Decoration Day on May 30 as well.








In 1882, the GAR changed the name of "Decoration Day" to Memorial Day. Members of the GAR wanted to recognize soldiers who had fought in any American war, as well as those who lost their lives in the Civil War. The name was also changed in order to highlight the importance of remembering these people as opposed to decorating their graves. By this time, Memorial Day was a legal holiday in the northern United States. However, the South refused to acknowledge it and chose to honor deceased Confederate soldiers on a different day. Following World War I, southern states eventually began to recognize Memorial Day, but continued to observe a separate day for remembering Confederate soldiers. Still today, individual states in the South set aside a different day designated for this purpose. The Confederate Memorial Day in the South varies from state to state.








Since 1971, when President Richard Nixon declared it a national holiday, Memorial Day has been observed on the last Monday in May by most states. Many communities organize special Memorial Day activities, including parades, marches, speeches, or church services. Families often spend the day on picnics or gather together to remember loved ones. Veterans groups, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and other organizations often decorate graves with flags and flowers, and take part in special holiday events. Military bands commonly join Memorial Day celebrations as well, filling the air with patriotic music.








On military bases, soldiers fire rifles into the air to honor their lost comrades. In remembrance of those who died at sea, Navy sailors toss flowers into the ocean. And at some U.S. ports, it is common to see miniature ships filled with flowers floating on the water. Veterans and volunteers sell small red artificial flowers called poppies to raise funds for disabled veterans. Across the nation, the American flag flies at half-staff until noon.








Today, Memorial Day is more than just a day to remember Civil War soldiers who died for our country. The United States has fought in many others wars, and there are countless people who have died serving our country. Memorial Day is a time to honor any American soldier or sailor who has fought and died in an American war. In recent years, it has also become a special day to honor family members and friends who we wish to remember - regardless of whether or not they served the in the armed forces.

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from this site

So, please go out there this weekend and honor the brave men and women that died in fighting for America. Treat the day as a tribute to them and help spread the word that the day really isn't about where to get a good bargain on automobiles.

[May 24, 2002, 08:25 AM: Message edited by: Linda1 ]

I found this little "gem", too:

quote:

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Hang flag properly to celebrate holiday
By NICK HARDER
Copyright 2002 Orange County Register

With the official observance of Memorial Day on Monday, Flag Day on June 14 and the Fourth of July coming up, it's time to brush up on the proper way to display the U.S. flag at home, especially for a lot of Americans whose flags have become faded and worn since they began flying them after Sept. 11.

The U.S. Flag Code says that faded and tattered flags are to be retired properly. This means a ceremonial burning. Anyone can do it, but it should be done the right way.

If you're in doubt, contact your nearest American Legion or VFW post or even a Scout group. Chances are they'll know how to perform this ceremony. You'll feel better about it, and, in the case of young Scouts, they'll learn something as well.

If you have an American flag in satisfactory shape, displaying it on Memorial Day is a little different than other days. If the flag is on a pole or staff on which it is hoisted to the top, the flag should be raised to the top briskly, then lowered to half-staff until noon. Flags on Memorial Day need only be half-staff until noon. After that, they should be raised briskly to the top.

If you have a flag on a pole or staff and fly it all the time at the top, it can be lowered slowly to half-staff, then raised after noon.

Flags that are not on a staff or pole on which they can be raised or lowered can be flown as is.

For those who display the flag by hanging it horizontally or vertically, remember that the union of blue with white stars should be in the upper left.

If you fly the flag at night, it should have a light on it.

These are most of the Flag Code rules that usually apply to people who display the flag at home. There are a lot of other rules, tips and information concerning the U.S. flag. You'll find a wealth of Web sites dealing with the U.S. flag. Do a search under "U.S. Flag Code." If you don't have a computer, check with your library's reference section for flag information.

Most people have a 3-foot-by-5-foot flag fixed to a pole, anchored in a sheath on the side of their home and projected at an angle. However, with the surge in patriotism since Sept. 11, vertical flagpoles from 10 feet to 35 feet have been selling like mad. Here's a guide to help you decide what size flag to buy and put on your pole.

Poles up to 20 feet should have a 3-foot-by-5-foot flag; 20-foot poles should display a 4-foot-by-6-foot flag; 25-foot poles a 5-foot-by-8-foot flag; and 30-35-foot poles, a 6-foot-by-10-foot flag.

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We have ANZAC Day in April which sounds like a combination of both your Memorial Day and Veteran's Day ... there are services that honor the dead and every town (nearly) will have a march for the servicemen who are still alive, who always say that they're marching to remember the dead anyway.

This may only be my opinion but I would say that ANZAC Day is the one day that you don't muck around with in Australia. I can't imagine that a bussiness would promote a sale using ANZAC Day. It has become such a part of the Australian identity that I, for one, feel more patriotic on this day than Australia Day.

(Sorry to respond so late to you, Copago, but I was away from the computer until now. Just now saw your message.)

Unfortunately, we Americans can pretty well commercialize just about any holiday or sacred day. Nothing is immune anymore - Easter, Christmas, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, etc. If there's an opportunity to make money off of it or have a "EVERYTHING'S ON SALE!!!!!!" opportunity, it's done.

It just gets sad when the real meanings of the days get glossed over. I don't know, I guess I'm becoming more aware of things like Memorial Day and Veterans' Day because I do have some family members to whom these days apply very personally. And, one of them (a second cousin) has been trying to get people to understand what the days are really about. When I hear the stories he tells, I get the real picture of how these really are times of remembrance for people he knew and fought next to.

Not that people can't have picnics or enjoy the beautiful day or be with friends and family or do any of the things that we think of with Memorial Day. Those things are traditional. And, those things are wonderful to do - being with family and friends is a terrific thing. But, maybe there could be a bit of remembering and honoring done, too. In between bites of hot dogs, if nothing else?!

The British version is called Remembrance Sunday and occurs in November. For weeks beforehand the Britsh Legion sell poppies on the streets and virtually everyone who appears on television will be wearing one. There are televised church services and wreaths are laid at the Cenotaph. It does seem a shame to have such an occasion used promote sales but that's the modern world isn't it.

Thought I'd bring this one up to the top - it's been a while since it's been in the forefront, and Memorial Day is just a couple of days away.

Today's newspaper says that "area residents are expected to celebrate this year's Memorial Day holiday weekend with unrestrained verve, crowding parks, beaches, highways, and airports."

How do you "celebrate" Memorial Day? The name alone (MEMORIAL) should clue people in to the fact that this isn't something to "celebrate." That caption really bothered me. It's so sad that we treat this day as a celebration instead of an honoring of some very brave people who died.

In Canada we also have Remembrance Day, on Nov 11 (the old Armistice Day). Our spring holiday, on or near the weekend of May 24, is Victoria Day, to celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday. Since this has no real meaning for anyone, it's a fine excuse to have a party, or a sale. I don't much like the idea of 'celebrating' a day to honour the war dead. Though not everyone here makes any type of effort on Remembrance Day, it is certainly looked at as a solomn day, not a 'holiday'.

As a youngster I remember being taught that Rememberence Sunday was a day for thought. Having an English father and a German mother it was a doubly thought provoking day. There are relatives from both sides that I never got to meet. To this day, Rememberence Sunday, the one closest to November 11, still has a special meaning.

For those who are not Commonwealth or US, the significance of the date is that the guns in the First World War fell silent at the 11th hour, on the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918.

LEST WE FORGET

The Memorial Day remembrance with all the solemn ceremony attendant to the event is a day of mourning for those who lost loved ones in all the wars that living American citizens can remember; the people who have no emotional attachment to the loss of our military will celebrate a day off from work.

We have a generational disconnect between those who remember, vividly, grieving mothers and fathers for sons and daughters lost in battle and those who have had no disruption in their lives. This is not a condemnation of people who would rather go to the beach or have a barbeque on Memorial Day because they don't have anything to remember, but to remind them that a very long line of their fellow Americans sacrificed everything so that they could have the day off.

The ghosts of many men and women, some that I knew personally, will still rest with the knowledge that their sacrifice was not forgotten.

Unfortunately, I think the government, by changing the observance of Memorial day to a Monday to guarantee a federal "day off" hasn't helped matters.

Only this year will I have a grave to visit.

Last year on Veteran's Day great pomp and circumstance was made of this grave, freshly filled, with not even a permanent marker yet. Three weeks earlier a soldier was buried there and the newspaper here chose to devote their Veteran's Day paper to that grave rather than the living soldiers and veterans the day was meant to honor. One sentence in the paper told where the Veteran's Day parade would be, though it neglected to say when.

The import of these days is not lost on all of us who had no graves to visit (until now). In fact, sometimes I think it has been lost on others who should have known better.

Last week I had to tell a store owner they should not display their American Flags (for sale) so that the corners dragged on the ground, even if it WAS a fetching display, and I felt it neccessary to point out that these were American flags, not flags with Winnie the Pooh and a watering can. I was given a dirty look by the 40-something shop owner and told it would be too much work to change the display. So I spent 30 minutes rearranging those flags. Who knows how much good it did.

I have to disagree with some, though. Memorial Day IS a day of celebration. You do a disservice to the soldiers who gave their lives if you do not celebrate those lives. Remembering them, how they felt about their country, and remembering what they gave their lives for; so that you would live and this country would live and both would be vital and free. I agree that the respect is too often missing, but celebrating with respect is not that hard, and there SHOULD be a little of both! As I said, I now have a grave to visit. When I think about that soldier and ask myself how he would like me to honor him, it is not with solemn thought and retrospection about war and death. It is with life, patriotism, love, happy memories, thankfulness and gratitude and most probably a cold beer accompanied by a "Thanks Chris" with raised bottles.

Edited to add:
I have just realized upon rereading this that it may be my own view of life and death that causes me to "mourn" my lost loved ones in a way many would find unconventional. I do not feel that sober (as opposed to happy, not as opposed to drunk,) reflection and heavy hearts is a proper memorial to any well-loved person, no matter how they died. I don't suggest "celebrating" with drunken parties and shopping. Irreverence and celebration are not interchangable.