Memorial Day is a day, I think, is under appreciated and under celebrated. When I was growing up, every Memorial Day, my Uncle Jack, my mother, and myself would drive to K-Mart on Route 8, buy some flowers, and then head for the cemetery where the King side (my mother's side) of the family is buried. We'd plant the flowers in memory of them, particularly my grandparents. Then we would head over to the cemetary where my father is buried. And then back to our house to relax on the back porch and cook dinner on the grill. No taking advantage of the "Great Memorial Day Sales", no working on the house, these ignore the purpose of the holiday, which is to remember those who died in the many wars the USA has fought. Granted, some of these were worth fighting, but as I learn more and more history, the more I realize how many wars were fought for the expansion of American capitalism than against any threat. The lies, the propaganda, the gullibility of so many people has sickened me to the point I have become very cynical and skeptical of anything the government, the media, or the military do and say.
Memorial Day started in 1868 when General John Alexander Logan ordered May 30 to be an official day for decorating the graves of those killed in the Civil War. It was called Decoration Day, and at some point over the years renamed Memorial Day. Most states adopted it as an official holiday. Most states changed it to the last monday in May, starting in 1971, to follow a Federal schedule for holidays.
Traditionally the day is observed with decorating the graves of soldiers, my Grandfather King being one of them, a World War One veteran, along with parades, cook-outs, speeches, and ceremonies.
Unfortunatley these days, Memorial Day, along with other holidays, is used for big sales and commercialism, the meaning behind the holiday being lost, purposely ignored, or just plain forgotten. People treat it as just another day, perhaps they get an extra day off, an excuse to party or get drunk, they do not care, if they even know, about why there is something called Memorial Day. So on the next last Monday in May, please go out to the cemetary where your family is buried, and remember them.
Also think about all of the messages you get on a daily basis, sit back and reflect on what they mean, and don't mean. How honest is the messenger and the message? Is it genuine, or crap?
The History Channel's salute to Memorial Day
Memorial Day from the Seneca County Pennsylvania Homepage.