Fishing on the Net
By Bonnie Nelson
Memorial Day
For centuries man has been at war. From the first conflict between two tribes to the modern day, war has always been a part of the human race. Men have fought and died. Women have lost loved onesóboth husband and children. Cities have been destroyedóall in the name of war.
Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan. He was the national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. Flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. Logan stated that May 5th should be celebrated (http://www.patriotism.org/memorial_day/index.html): as a day for strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country, and whose bodies now lie in† almost every city, village, or hamlet churchyard in the land...It is the purpose of the commander-in-chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept from year to year while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of the departed."
The custom of placing flowers upon graves is ancient, and exists in many countries.
The Greeks had rites called zoai, which were performed over each new grave. If the flowers took root and blossomed on the graves, it meant the souls were sending back the message that they had found happiness. The Roman festival, called Parentalia, or Day of the Fathers, violets and roses were the special flowers.
In 1915, inspired by the poem ìIn Flanders fieldî, Moina Michael replied with her own poem. She then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war.
We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.
The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states but the South refused to acknowledge the day. They honored their dead on separate days until after World War I. It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html).
On this Memorial Day let us put aside our own ideas of celebrating the holiday, and spend it thinking about those who have died for us. Without them, we would not be the nation we are today.
Bonnie Nelson is a freelance writer living in Fountain, CO. If you have any comments or questions, email her at waltbon@comcast.net
CONTACT THE WRITER • WALTBON@COMCAST.nET
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