Memorial Day

Diane Lane

Diane Lane

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Joined
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Texas, United States
Here in the USA, it's Memorial Day Weekend. Although the holiday was designed to remember and celebrate those who've sacrificed in war, it's become a big barbecue and party weekend. There's a huge neighborhood barbecue down at the beach tomorrow, even though today is supposed to be the better of the two days. Memorial Day is actually Monday, but it's often celebrated on Saturday or Sunday, since not everyone has Monday off work.

Do you celebrate a memorial day where you are? In my family, we usually took this opportunity to remember our loved ones who'd passed, and visited and decorated their graves. It's also a big day for sales, particularly furniture and vehicles.
 
We celebrate Memorial Day weekend the best we can, but usually at least one of us has to work that weekend. When I was younger, it was viewed as kind of the kick off to the camping season. I hope to be able to have better Memorial Day weekends in the future, but right now earning money is more important.

We take the opportunity to educate our kids on the importance of the holiday and pay tribute to fallen soldiers in any way that we can. I refuse to shop on this weekend because the stores are always way too busy.
 
Diane Lane said:
Here in the USA, it's Memorial Day Weekend. Although the holiday was designed to remember and celebrate those who've sacrificed in war, it's become a big barbecue and party weekend. There's a huge neighborhood barbecue down at the beach tomorrow, even though today is supposed to be the better of the two days. Memorial Day is actually Monday, but it's often celebrated on Saturday or Sunday, since not everyone has Monday off work.

Do you celebrate a memorial day where you are? In my family, we usually took this opportunity to remember our loved ones who'd passed, and visited and decorated their graves. It's also a big day for sales, particularly furniture and vehicles.
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its great to remember your loved ones,i am intrigued in the past ,and what sacrifices that were made,i visit war graves and battle graves in Northern Europe,Holland ,Belgium and France,i had a great uncle killed by friendly fire in Japan ,his name is in a church in the village i was born ,i will be remembering him and his compatriots this weekend
 
Berties said:
In the UK we get a bank holiday day this weekend, not sure why ,it's called spring bank holiday
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It used to be called Whitsun or Whit Monday and was traditionally the Monday after Pentecost (7 Sundays after Easter). Back in 1971, after a 5 year trial, the Bank and Financial Dealings Act moved it to the last Monday in May (to stabilise the date). Whitsun is a contradiction of the full name White Sunday. My mother was once the local girl crowned the Queen during the feast/celebrations and a float would pull the queen (wearing a brand new white dress) around the village. From time to time, the photos come out. It was a time of celebration for everyone.

I can remember very clearly the well dressing ceremony that my village used to perform and which is mentioned on the Time And Date.com website
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/spring-bank-holiday
In Endon in Staffordshire, the villagers dress their well, hold a fayre (village celebration) and crown a girl as the Well Dressing Queen. Local men hold a competition, known as 'Tossing the Sheaf', in which they compete to see who can toss a bale of straw the highest. ...Morris dancers put on displays and local festivals are held.
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I have no idea why we had a well dressing ceremony, but I can only imagine it had a lot to do with Pagan beliefs and that the well would not run dry if it was blessed. Hence the village would have a good water supply for the year and the health of the village and harvest would be good.. I do recall something about the well having run dry in olden times, and there was something to do with the well being dry or not on that day that held some superstition for the rest of the year and the harvest and health of village. Sadly I was very young at the time, and really can't remember it all clearly, other than being walked from the school up the hill to the well (and ford) for the ceremony.
 
I went to a kids' birthday party yesterday. That was the only thing that I had planned.
Gonna just stay home, kick back & relax. Watch TV, after I go check on the new apartment. :wink:
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
It used to be called Whitsun or Whit Monday and was traditionally the Monday after Pentecost (7 Sundays after Easter). Back in 1971, after a 5 year trial, the Bank and Financial Dealings Act moved it to the last Monday in May (to stabilise the date). Whitsun is a contradiction of the full name White Sunday. My mother was once the local girl crowned the Queen during the feast/celebrations and a float would pull the queen (wearing a brand new white dress) around the village. From time to time, the photos come out. It was a time of celebration for everyone.

I can remember very clearly the well dressing ceremony that my village used to perform and which is mentioned on the Time And Date.com website
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/spring-bank-holiday


I have no idea why we had a well dressing ceremony, but I can only imagine it had a lot to do with Pagan beliefs and that the well would not run dry if it was blessed. Hence the village would have a good water supply for the year and the health of the village and harvest would be good.. I do recall something about the well having run dry in olden times, and there was something to do with the well being dry or not on that day that held some superstition for the rest of the year and the harvest and health of village. Sadly I was very young at the time, and really can't remember it all clearly, other than being walked from the school up the hill to the well (and ford) for the ceremony.
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That ceremony sounds a lot like what I remember from May Day celebrations as a kid, with everyone dressing up in their best, may poles being decorated with flowers, and a queen being crowned. So much has been lost over the years, only the older folks remember anything of our traditions and culture, it seems. I like the idea of blessing the well...more things should be blessed, in my opinion. It certainly couldn't hurt.

We had some rough weather come through, so many here are assessing damage and collaborating to borrow chain saws. There are at least 2 trees down, one blocking a road. The others are already at the beach, firing up the barbecues.
 
Diane Lane said:
That ceremony sounds a lot like what I remember from May Day celebrations as a kid, with everyone dressing up in their best, may poles being decorated with flowers, and a queen being crowned. So much has been lost over the years, only the older folks remember anything of our traditions and culture, it seems. I like the idea of blessing the well...more things should be blessed, in my opinion. It certainly couldn't hurt.

We had some rough weather come through, so many here are assessing damage and collaborating to borrow chain saws. There are at least 2 trees down, one blocking a road. The others are already at the beach, firing up the barbecues.
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May Day (May 1st) used to be a wonderful day of spring celebration in which you welcomed in the spring with fun spring dresses, and outdoor fun. It is unfortunate that it is now a day of doom and anarchist protests in many major US cities.

Many immigrate communities formed together in protest to bring awareness regarding the struggles they face here in America, which I respect, but then other groups formed only to bring chaos to the cities for the day.
 
may day is the early may bank holiday and the late may bay holiday has normally coincided with schools half term,and yes i always knew this as Whitsun and thanks to snsso for the info,but seems to another day with no true meaning, is it the 7th sunday after easter and we have to have monday off as we all had such a busy day celebrating pentacost?,nah

the bfda set the date as a bank holiday to this date ,but in 2002 the queen changed it to june give us a extra day to celebrate her 50 year reign,so its a religious based day off that we all get to have a day off, but i have remembered a food related whitsun event

On Cooper's Hill in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, people race down a steep hill following a large round cheese. The hill is concave and has an incline of 1:1 in some places. The first person to cross the finishing line wins a Double Gloucester cheese weighing about 8lbs (around 3.5kg). The custom may have been started by the Romans or ancient Britons and be an ancient fertility rite or a way of guaranteeing the rights of the villagers to graze their livestock on the surrounding land. In some years, there have been a lot of injuries, causing the event to be cancelled a couple of times in recent years. In these years, the cheese was rolled down the hill, but nobody was allowed to chase it.
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http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/spring-bank-holiday

i think Memorial day would have more impact,for us in the Uk remembering the past
 
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Berties said:
may day is the early may bank holiday and the late may bay holiday has normally coincided with schools half term,and yes i always knew this as Whitsun and thanks to snsso for the info,but seems to another day with no true meaning, is it the 7th sunday after easter and we have to have monday off as we all had such a busy day celebrating pentacost?,nah

the bfda set the date as a bank holiday to this date ,but in 2002 the queen changed it to june give us a extra day to celebrate her 50 year reign,so its a religious based day off that we all get to have a day off, but i have remembered a food related whitsun event


http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/spring-bank-holiday

i think Memorial day would have more impact,for us in the Uk remembering the past
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I think it'd be fun to watch people chasing the cheese, but maybe in a less dangerous way.

So, in the UK, is there a day for celebrating those who've served?
 
Rosyrain said:
May Day (May 1st) used to be a wonderful day of spring celebration in which you welcomed in the spring with fun spring dresses, and outdoor fun. It is unfortunate that it is now a day of doom and anarchist protests in many major US cities.

Many immigrate communities formed together in protest to bring awareness regarding the struggles they face here in America, which I respect, but then other groups formed only to bring chaos to the cities for the day.
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Yes, the dresses and flowers were beautiful, especially after a long, rough winter. Being able to be outside without being bundled up was always a treat when I lived up north.

I think many immigrants are unaware, since it's usually not well publicized, that each incoming immigrant group, in turn, has faced problems and barriers. Perhaps if they would do a little research, and recognize that they are not the only ones to face discrimination, and showed some recognition and appreciation for their new country, they would be more welcomed.
 
Diane Lane said:
So, in the UK, is there a day for celebrating those who've served?
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We have the 11th November which is known as Remembrance Day, Remembrance Sunday (the closest Sunday to the 11th), Poppy Day or Armistice Day which if for remembering those who have served and fallen in service for their country. We have a lot of World War 1 memorials in the country in every city, town and village and they are the places where the poppy wreaths are lain on the closest Sunday to the 11th November. It stems from the armistice signed for the end of World War 1. The 11am on 11th November.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day
 
11th November and Remembrance Sunday are always very sombre and respectful affairs. I can't imagine that a big barbecue and party to remember the fallen would go down very well in the UK at all.
 
I just learned on a morning talk show yesterday that at 3pm on Memorial Day, each American citizen is legally obligated to stop what they are doing and have a moment of silence for the fallen soldiers, apparently it is a law here in the US. It is undoubtedly not enforced, and I never knew about it before watching The View yesterday.
 
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