Just a little chit chat today and a couple of links if you are interested. I've been spending a lot of time on my knees in the garden lately, and my back is revolting. I think today I'll try to spend most of the day upright. This weekend, though it's packed with cookouts and picnics, should be spent, at least in part, remembering soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
I remember when I was young and lived in the South where Memorial Day was celebrated in a very solemn manner. I was born and raised to the age of 12 in Cincinnati (barely in the North, with the Ohio river being the boundary between the North and South) and Memorial Day, formerly Decoration Day, was celebrated with picnics and parades. When we moved to the South, we found it was a very solemn day, which I don't think you could say was "celebrated" at all. Folks decorated graves with flags and stores closed for the day, but it was not a celebratory event at all. That's because the South lost the war. From what I have read, the very first Memorial Day was celebrated by African Americans who were grateful to the soldiers who died fighting for their freedom.
Now Memorial Day is a day when the mail doesn't come, school's out, and the local mattress outlet has a big sale. Many people, even those who are educated and should know, don't know that Memorial Day is the day we remember the soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice. It's not Veteran's Day when we remember those who served. It's the day we remember those who died fighting for our freedom. When you thank God for your meal this weekend, be sure to remember those souls.
Just because it is a solemn day doesn't mean we don't eat. My mother's birthday happens to be May 30, so Memorial Day weekend usually includes a little Happy Birthday affair. This year we'll gather on Sunday and my brother is smoking pork ribs and grilling them at my house. We'll also have sangria, Bacon and Onion potato salad, marinated beets, creamed corn, beans and wieners, fruit tart, Pentecost cupcakes made with red velvet cake, because Pentecost is this Sunday.
On Monday we'll have another small get together with burgers and dogs and Summer Bulgur Salad and baked beans (again). I haven't decided on dessert for Monday yet.
I hope you have a restful weekend, friend. Remember our Church's birthday on Sunday, and the souls of our beloved fellow men and women who made our lives in this country possible.
5 comments:
Barbara, chit chat from you is always something special and meaningful. Thanks. May 31st, is our 43rd wedding anniversary. It seems that we were the only ones who wanted to get married on Memorial Day weekend! It'll be quiet (K&M went to FL with the boys, and A's J is recovering from surgery.)...so, it'll be just Jeff and me here at home. Will call my brother to thank him for his service during the Viet Nam era and, together, we'll remember our dad who served during WWII.
You know, it's interesting…the Memorial Day traditions I grew up with did include food, usually in the form of some sort of cookout or picnic, but an even more dominant part of our "celebration" was that we all went as a family to decorate the graves of our family members. A few were in the military, though only one had lost their life during combat, but mainly it was just to honor and remember our loved ones that were no longer with us. Kinda like a secular All Souls Day. I loved the tradition of picking up all of the flowers (yes, real flowers. Not the icky fake ones sold at Walmart) and heading to the cemetery to place them on the graves and listen to the stories of those that were no longer with us. My grandfather (85 yrs old) still does this when he can make it out. We have not been able to join with him because my husband always seems to have to work or be on-call for his job. I miss it and fear that my children are missing out on a beautiful tradition. *sigh*
Wishing you a blessed Memorial Day weekend, Barbara.
It does seem to be all about the parties, doesn't it? We're going, with our American Heritage Girls, to the local memorial event. It's beautifully done with a patriotic band or two, speeches from veterans, 21-guns, lots of displays of arms and jeeps, and tanks.
Thanks, too, for your weekly menus. I love to read them, and I use them so much to keep our meals interesting. :) You CAN teach an old dog new tricks! :)
You're right! It's MEMORIAL day. I think the definition of that word is lost on most people. Drives me nuts! But of course Veterans Day and Armed Forces Day aren't days that most people have off from work...
We took the boys camping for the first time. In a cabin, though, not a tent. I'm not THAT crazy. :)
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