For the record, I did make sure they all understood what these days off (in their minds) are about. Though I thought it would be good to share that information here.
"Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America."
"Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. It was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.
On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there." (copied from usmemorialday.org)
Labor Day is about the American Laborer and has nothing to do with honoring military men and women. According to the US Dept. of Labor website;
"Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country."
Regarding Veterans Day; "An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday—a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as "Armistice Day." Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars." (copied from va.gov)
If you are a curious individual you might visit these and other websites to read up on the history of these holidays. Some of what I read is speculative because we really don't know the exact history or the specific context of what information has been preserved over the years. Even those who read this blog post who are my age of older may not remember from their history lessons all of the information pertaining to these three holidays. I recommend that we all take a moment when these holidays approach and research a little so we are reminded of the significance of each date.
I know I will.
Moving on.
"Tell a man that there are 400 billion stars and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint and he has to touch it." Steven Wright
You all may have noticed a bit of disappointment surrounding the Mahan Clan not having our annual gathering on Grand Mesa this year. The time spent together on that mountain has become a cherished event in our lives since sometime in the middle 1990's. As our children have started their families it has become more difficult to pull everyone together every year. I have been excited at the prospect of being unplugged for the weekend and not worrying about work or any other life issues that arise from time to time. We are not able to gather this year but we will likely spend time communicating, celebrating, and enjoying time with family that is near."
Thanks for checking in. More to come soon. See you then.
