Well, I think it depends on how you grew up with Memorial Day, but either way I hope it’s an important day to you!
American fans will get this post a bit more than my international fans, but I’ll try and bridge the gap a bit.
So, Memorial Day, if you grew up without many family members, or at least immediate family members, having served in the armed forces then you probably spent it at home having a big bbq, or maybe at the beach and ending with a bbq, or maybe camping with a bbq. Americans love bbq-ing on patriotic holidays for some reason. But that’s the commercialized version of Memorial’s Day. Our present day Memorial’s Day has very little in common with how this observance began.
So, Memorial Day is actually supposed to be about remembering our men and women who have served in the armed forces protecting our nation, who are no longer with us, either having died serving their country or even after they gave us that great gift. That’s what I mean by if you don’t come from a big military family, you probably brushed it off and had a barbecue.
A couple of my cousins, their families were big military families. One of my uncles, he stayed stationed in San Diego for most of his career, the others serving got the short straws. They were on the east coast most of their careers in the armed forces, and moving every four years. But yeah, so for Memorial Day they would go to the local military cemetery and place flowers on the graves and pray and what not. Which I think is really awesome, because they really observe what the holiday is all about.
But, unfortunately, I wasn’t quite raised that way. In fact, I grew up in a pretty “democratic” household. I think they thought they were democrats, but they were really dictators. So there wasn’t much observance of Memorial Day aside from the BBQ. Yeah, the older I got the more I became interested in our holidays. Not just because they were a day off, but because they’re important enough to be nationally recognized. I think that right there should alude to the fact that it has a significant importance. Especially since most of these days were established well before they were nationally recognized or a day off.
So when ever a holiday pops up I like to take the time to read up a bit on it. Memorial Day actually had its beginnings with the ending of the Civil War. The Union and The Confederates actually had their own separate days to observe the remembrance of their fallen comrades. Each with their own traditions and somber tones to the day. It’s a pretty powerful day in the early history of American society, especially when the war had just ended and the USA was busy rebuilding its new Southern half.
So, I hope you all enjoy that rambling about Memorial Day and I hope that hits home a bit for you. At least take a couple minutes to think about it and appreciate the people that sacrifice their life for yours, regardless of whether you’re American or not. There’s always going to be somebody busting their ass today so you can be free tomorrow.