Letters from Linden
by JACK LINDEN
I know that I am late in writing about Memorial Day but maybe if I write about it now, I may be able to raise some thoughts in the minds of other people. I believe most Americans have lost sight of the true meaning of the day. I have deeply held beliefs about holidays in this country and I believe most of them have lost their meaning.
Where I live, there are three holidays when all the stores are closed – Christmas, New Year’s Day, and Easter.
I am most concerned about the other holidays in the year and what they have become. Let us consider the events on Memorial Day. I can remember as a youth going with my mother and father to the local cemetery to decorate the graves of family members. Back then it was not called Memorial Day but rather Decoration Day. I know that Dad and Mother took great pains to see that the flowers were carefully placed on the gravesites.
Memorial Day was first called for in May of 1868. The day was celebrated every May 30 until 1971 when the federal government made it into a three day holiday by placing the day as the last Monday in May. The meaning of the day began to get lost at that point.
What if we returned all of our holidays to the original date? Would the 4th of July become a date that is more than picnics and a three day weekend? Would people be willing to listen to patriotic speeches again? Can we get back to honoring the memories of those who have given their all in the liberties of this country rather than celebrating the beginning of summer? Can we take Thanksgiving and truly give thanks for all the benefits that we have received be they from a Supreme Being or our good luck?
I have argued for years that rather than students be given the day off from school, holidays that fall within the school year should be used as a teaching day. It doesn’t take much imagination, for instance, to see how Memorial Day could be used across the spectrum of the curricula.
In many ways, Americans are very hypocritical about their holidays. We fly flags and hold short ceremonies and then go celebrate having the day off. Perhaps if the Congress would once again make the date of the holiday as it was intended, we as Americans would once again observe and contemplate what the meaning of the day is all about.
If we are to truly celebrate those holidays, we should not only pay homage to those who have gone before us, but we should also take a solemn oath to ourselves that we too will give something.
For those who say they love America, start advocating the return to the meaning of the holidays.
