A Grateful Nation Remembers
I took Patty on a date this morning.
It included the post office, the library, the bank, and then breakfast outside at the grocery store deli.
(Why, yes, I really DO know how to show a girl a great time, you’re right!)
Almost every friend we talked with along the way had plans that included flowers, a trip to a cemetery, or some combination thereof.
That’s good, because some have forgotten what this holiday weekend is really about.
I like the way this reminds us:
Memorial Day
Observed the last Monday in May
or the previous Sunday,
this day honors the war dead of the United States.
Many observe the day by decorating graves,
especially of persons who died in war.
— page 440 in The United Methodist Book of Worship
A grateful nation remembers.
joescheets 
The Book of Worship reflects the changed remembrance date. I think the original helped people remember, truly remember. Instead, many folks have buried it in that three-day weekend kicking off summer!
Memorial Day once had its own day, when people really remembered what it was. In fact, my grandmothers knew it as Decoration Day! It was the 30th of May; the date originally established for the remembrance. School was out (even though it was one to three days before it was out for the summer. Stores were closed, except those outdoor markets where flowers could be purchased. We took Grandmother T. to Calhoun County to the cemetery outside of Brussels and The cemetery behind McKendree College in Lebanon. We took Grandmother S. to two or three cemeteries in Southern Illinois, one was outside of Percy. Tradition!!
If you can tell Joe, I am reading backwards again.
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Right you are, Decoration Day vs. Yay for Summer
Sent from my iPhone
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