Holidays and Their Meaning
So many of us are very busy- working, commuting, trying to juggle work and play and taking care of the kids, etc. that a long, holiday weekend is anxiously anticipated. And its well deserved and its great to have a few days off and spend the time with family and friends. But lets just make sure we pause for a few minutes each holiday and think about what that holiday means to us and our country.
I was recently asked in an interview about my book 5 Words and Then Some (by the way, a great graduation present!!) why I included a section about holidays. My answer was that I believe, we as a nation, often forget why we have these holidays. This weekend is Memorial Day. This is probably the most remembered and celebrated holiday as it well should be. We will have parades, patriotic music, speeches and visits to the veteran's cemeteries. We should give this type of focus to all our holidays.
I know I always think of all the men and women who went "over that hill" and never came back. Hundreds of thousands of them going back over 300 years. So many of them were deprived of getting married, having kids, having a cookout with their families and friends. They paid the ultimate sacrifice so we could have that cookout.
Holidays were always special occasions in my family. Family and friends would gather but we would also talk about the holiday and holidays in days past. On the 4th of July, my father would always get the shotgun out, stand on the back steps of the old homestead, and fire it off. But the reason he did that was that for years the U.S. celebrated the 4th by firing off cannons and guns to celebrate our independence. So in some small way Dad kept that tradition alive.
So by remembering and discussing the holidays with our families and the reason we celebrate these holidays we create a time to teach history, reflect on the sacrifice so many men and women made and relate to our own family's oral history and traditions.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day and that sometime during the weekend lets all raise a glass of our favorite beverage and toast all those special men and women who have gone before us. Thanking you for your time, this time, until next time, Regards, FRAN
I was recently asked in an interview about my book 5 Words and Then Some (by the way, a great graduation present!!) why I included a section about holidays. My answer was that I believe, we as a nation, often forget why we have these holidays. This weekend is Memorial Day. This is probably the most remembered and celebrated holiday as it well should be. We will have parades, patriotic music, speeches and visits to the veteran's cemeteries. We should give this type of focus to all our holidays.
I know I always think of all the men and women who went "over that hill" and never came back. Hundreds of thousands of them going back over 300 years. So many of them were deprived of getting married, having kids, having a cookout with their families and friends. They paid the ultimate sacrifice so we could have that cookout.
Holidays were always special occasions in my family. Family and friends would gather but we would also talk about the holiday and holidays in days past. On the 4th of July, my father would always get the shotgun out, stand on the back steps of the old homestead, and fire it off. But the reason he did that was that for years the U.S. celebrated the 4th by firing off cannons and guns to celebrate our independence. So in some small way Dad kept that tradition alive.
So by remembering and discussing the holidays with our families and the reason we celebrate these holidays we create a time to teach history, reflect on the sacrifice so many men and women made and relate to our own family's oral history and traditions.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day and that sometime during the weekend lets all raise a glass of our favorite beverage and toast all those special men and women who have gone before us. Thanking you for your time, this time, until next time, Regards, FRAN
posted by Fran Larkin at
4:11 AM
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