Please Don’t Say “Happy Memorial Day”
I grew up in this area and if you did too, you may remember that this upcoming holiday used to be referred to as “Confederate Memorial Day”. Every year my elementary school class would walk from the school to downtown Concord and lay flowers at the base of the Confederate Memorial located in front of the old public library.
Later in the 60’s, that tradition faded and Memorial Day became as intended, a day to remember those men and women who died in service to our country in any era. It is NOT a celebration so it irks me when people say “Happy Memorial Day”! Nothing happy about it. It’s also NOT Veteran’s Day. Veteran’s Day is when we “thank service men and women for their past or present service”. Memorial Day is NOT the holiday to thank the living, hence the term MEMORIAL.
Memorial Day is a day to commemorate, to remember. I believe the “party” aspect of Memorial Day happened because as a society, we cherish family and friends and we’re social animals so we celebrate our freedoms in this fashion. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it drives me nuts when people thank the living on a day dedicated to the dead and say “Happy Memorial Day”. We’re very lucky that we have what we have because people sacrificed for our freedoms. We’re certainly not happy they’re gone. My two cents. Happ….. uh. Have a safe Memorial Day and please remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
