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| Image from VintageHolidayCrafts.com |
I would like to wish all of my readers a blessed Memorial Day. For many, it is a long weekend and a time of enjoying friends, family and the outdoors. From what I have read of history, this day got its start after the Civil War in April 1866 when a small group of young women decorated the graves of their lost loved ones at a cemetery near Columbus, Mississippi. Both Union and Confederate soldiers who died at the Battle of Shiloh are buried here, and these young women, after tending the graves of the Confederate soldiers, walked over and scattered magnolia blossoms on the Union graves as well. News of their compassionate act spread quickly and soon Decoration Day, as it was then called, became an important American holiday. Today, Memorial Day, celebrated on the last Monday in May, is a day to honor all who have fought in America's wars. Here in New England, we often take some time on this day to visit our cemeteries, taking plants or silk flowers, or even a jar of lilacs, to decorate the graves of our loved ones. Mr. T and I will probably be doing just that later on,
So enjoy the day with your family and friends, with parades, picnics, cookouts, or whatever you may be doing, but take a moment sometime today, and remember the brave men and women who gave their all so that we could be free. And don't forget to pray for those equally brave men and women who are serving our country in difficult places right now.
Mrs T, believe it or not, I know about those young women in Columbus, MS. One of them was an ancestor of my sister in law!! I think it is a sweet story of honoring ALL who gave their lives in that terrible war. Thank goodness our nation survived that sad time in our history. Thanks for sharing that sweet story.
ReplyDeleteOh, Arlene, how fascinating that one of those young women was an ancestor of your sister-in-law!!! It is indeed a sweet story and they must have been sweet young women of great character to do what they did. Thanks so much for sharing that connection with all of us.
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