I’ve always felt a little strange saying Happy Memorial Day. Is it really something to be happy about? Memorial Day is to honor and remember those men and women who gave their lives in military service to our country. Doing a Google search you’ll find arguments for and against using “happy.” I decided to go with it.
A little history – Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country’s armed forces. The holiday, which is observed every year on the last Monday of May, originated as Decoration Day after the American Civil War in 1868, when the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans founded in Decatur, Illinois, established it as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. By the 20th century, competing Union and Confederate holiday traditions, celebrated on different days, had merged, and Memorial Day eventually extended to honor all Americans who died while in the military service. It typically marks the start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end.
In Vermont, Memorial Day weekend is the start of riding season. After a long winter it is great to get out and ride and enjoy our freedom, the freedom that so many have fought and died to protect. There’s noting wrong with celebrating the arrival of warm weather; we just need to remember and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for us to enjoy it.
