Memorial day is in an imperative observation of all of the men and women who have been lost in our countries wars. It allows us to honor and recognized, as well as tearfully remember, our family members and fellow country men who have given their lives protecting us and our freedoms. Without this day, the history of our soldiers would pass into oblivion, never to be recalled ever again. But because we do remember, and because we do have a day set aside in our year for our honored dead, we hopefully will continue to remember through as we pass on our traditions to our children.
True to the eclectic nature of America, there are many traditions which have been used to celebrate and hallow this day of remembrance. Each family has its own way of honoring this day and the method, some very similar to one another, and some completely different. I would like to share is the way that my family spends memorial day. On my grandmother's side is a large family that is spanned over eleven children, spread out across the country, and for one weekend a year we come together in order to honor our own that have fallen in war.
In honor of our deceased family members who served in the civil war, and later their children who continued to participate in the Great Wars and the Korean Wars, our family meets everyday before Memorial day for a potluck dinner at a park we have been attending for ten years. We all sit down to share a meal and reminsce of the times that we had so long ago as many of us only see each other that one day a year. After everyone has eaten, the family members from the oldest generation stand to tell us stories of their parents, their grand parents, and their great grandparents. They tell us of the sacrifices made in war, of the strife that tore our own family in half as some of us were in the south and some in the north.
The next day we go to the lake, eat more food of course, and spend the day enjoying our family and the freedom that our ancestors fought to give us. We honor our great uncle who was stabbed through the leg and discharged from service, our great-great-great grandfather who served in the war that tore apart our nation. We honor them by living and laughing and always remembering. There are many ways that American's celebrate memorial day, but I rememebr that most have a tradition similiar to my families where they come together to eat and enjoy the life that was paid in blood for them.