05/23/26 Weekend Grif.Net - Memorial Day Weekend
b...@grif.net
Soldier, rest, thy warfare o'er,
Dream of fighting fields no more.
Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking,
Morn of toil, nor night of waking.
Sir Walter Scott
Memorial Day began as a memorial for Civil War veterans. It has become both a National Decoration Day of family graves, and the holiday that opens the summer season. It is celebrated with backyard barbecues, outdoor picnics, and parades.
Virginia honored her war dead in the months following the War (1865) and it was from this practice that the tradition spread. Waterloo, New York was recognized by President Lyndon Johnson and both houses of Congress, as the birthplace of the "official" Memorial Day in the North because the town decorated the graves of Civil War veterans as early as May 5, 1866. General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic designated May 30, 1868, "as a day for strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, or hamlet churchyard in the land...It is the purpose of the commander-in-chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept from year to year while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of the departed."
No survivor of that war remains, but the memories of it grow longer. As do our memories of the parades with floats; civic organizations and drum majorettes twirling their batons; lines and lines of young veterans from The Gulf War and shorter lines of older men who saw service in Korea, World War I and World War II. As long as there are wars, there will be veterans and casualties. We will still decorate the graves of those men whose bodies came home and remember those who don't.
The custom of placing flowers upon graves is an old one and exists in many countries. The Greeks had rites called 'zoai', which were performed over each new grave. If the flowers took root and blossomed on the graves, it meant the souls were sending back the message that they had found happiness. The Roman festival, called Parentalia, or Day of the Fathers, lasted for eight days in February--violets and roses were the special flowers. Whatever the flower, wherever the grave, this placing of flowers upon graves has always seemed the natural thing to do.
Today, most states officially recognize the May Memorial Day as a legal holiday, but it is now celebrated on the last Monday in May in every state. Over time the holiday has expanded to encompass our other national wars. Although Veteran's Day is celebrated as well, Memorial Day has become the most important day of recognition of our armed forces.
Take a few minutes today from the hectic 2026 life to "walk back in your mind" to the time of remembrance. Walk through a local cemetery and place a flower on graves of fallen soldiers, saying a prayer of thankfulness for them and a prayer of remembrance and encouragement for the family whose loved ones' body rests there.
~~
Dr Bob Griffin
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ.” (Col. 4:2-3)
