Can you imagine having a picnic in a cemetery? It was fairly common in the late 1800s, and I’ve read that it’s making a comeback. For some of you who associate graveyards with ghosts, I suppose a ham sandwich with chips and lemonade on a blanket there would lose its appeal.

But others apparently desire the connection with or honor of their dear departed by including their gravesite in a warm-weather outdoor lunch.

Originally called Decoration Day, what is now named Memorial Day was observed to honor those who died in the Civil War. It made sense to celebrate it in May when the first flowers of spring could be gathered to decorate their graves.

I remember when Congress changed some holidays to Mondays so people could have an excuse for a three-day weekend. They wanted that long weekend and figured people wouldn’t care about, for instance, Washington or Lincoln’s real birthday. I cared. I still do, and it still bothers me, but I do not doubt I’m in the minority.* Anyway, that’s why we celebrate Memorial Day the last Monday in May.

Regardless of whether you’ve supported a war or even agree with the idea of war in general, we hold an obligation to honor those who died in good faith for their country. We can honor those who did something we have not done. Why did they do it? They stood for freedom. They dug deep into a belief: Duty, Honor, Country.

Depending on what you think is going on in our world just now, I don’t know whether you’ve thought about dying for a cause like soldiers must do. They are required to get their affairs in order. Write a will. Assign an executor. Get their “hero picture” taken. But you can do something easier. Just for this Memorial Day, you might attend a ceremony or parade. You might read a list of fatalities or, perhaps more palatable, a story of a soldier. In fact, I try to include a post on this very blog each year about Memorial Day. Whatever it is that you do, I hope you remember the why. Enjoy your picnic.

https://connectingdirectors.com/55122-cemetery-picnics; evangelina-silina-BzLUmuRDMWE-unsplash-scaled.jpg; *Do you think people even wonder whose birthdays are celebrated on Presidents Day? What a convenient way to diminish another element of our national history; philippa-rose-tite-XLlBh-SQZCA-unsplash.jpg; https://www.myfiresidechat.com/?s=memorial+day&submit=Search