Happy Memorial Day from Prospector Ranch
~ Natalia Radcliffe ~
Even though we haven’t been experiencing nearly as hot temperatures as we usually do at this time of year, summer is still right around the corner!
We’ll be celebrating Memorial Day soon, and it’s not only the unofficial start to summer, but it’s also, on a more important note, a day to honor and remember all of our brave soldiers who lost their lives in the line of duty.
In fact, on this holiday at 3 pm local time everywhere in the country, there is a national moment of remembrance.
The holiday is a time to take a step back and smell the roses, taking in what this country stands for and the cost of the freedom that we enjoy.
Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day, initially honoring those who lost their lives fighting in the Civil War.
After World War I occurred, the holiday expanded to include all soldiers who lost their lives in any war the U.S. fought in, including World War II, the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and, most recently, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Today, it has become a time to visit cemeteries and memorials, many holding events honoring those who have lost their lives while fighting for this country. You may see some people wearing red poppies to remember those who have fallen, which actually stemmed from a World War I poem called “In Flanders Field.” Part of the poem describes fallen World War I soldiers buried under poppy flowers that somehow survived the carnage of battle.
For many decades, Memorial Day was actually celebrated on May 30, ordained by General John A. Logan, the leader of a Northern Civil War veterans organization back in 1868. The holiday stayed on that day until the 1960s when the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was passed by Congress, appointing Memorial Day the last day Monday in the month of May, making it a federal holiday, allowing federal employees to have a three-day weekend.
It has been like that ever since, and that is how Memorial Day became what it is today.
We at Prospector Ranch hope you have a good holiday. For those remembering a loved one lost in the line of duty this year, we hope you find peace and comfort. Preserving the freedoms we enjoy in this country can come at a cost, and it’s thanks to the brave members of our military that we can enjoy those freedoms.
Information obtained from: https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/memorial-day-history
Thumbnail: Background picture by jkmoller11 on Pixabay.com.
