It's Memorial Day in Korea. The day is to commemorate the men and women who died while in military service during the Korean War. pic.twitter.com/yyEP4DCon2
— VisitKorea London (@CoolstuffKorea) June 6, 2017
When I hear people say “Happy Memorial Day” I too find it a bit awkward considering the real meaning of this holiday:
Allison Jaslow heard it more than once as the long holiday weekend approached — a cheerful “Happy Memorial Day!” from oblivious well-wishers.
The former Army captain and Iraq War veteran had a ready reply, telling them, matter-of-factly, that she considered it a work weekend. Jaslow will be at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday to take part in the annual wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. She’ll then visit Section 60, the final resting place of many service members who died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“You can see it in people’s faces that they’re a little horrified that they forget this is what the day’s about,” said Jaslow, 34, who wears a bracelet bearing the name of a fallen comrade. “Culturally, we’ve kind of lost sight of what the day’s supposed to mean.”
While millions of Americans celebrate the long Memorial Day weekend as the unofficial start of summer — think beaches and backyard barbecues, mattress sales and sporting events — some veterans and loved ones of fallen military members wish the holiday that honors more than 1 million people who died serving their country would command more respect. [CBS 58]
In my opinion Memorial Day really should begin with a somber tone much like I have seen with ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand. Communities across both nations meet for morning remembrance services every April 25th. It is a very big deal and has a somber tone to them. After the morning service the rest of the day depending on the community there could be parades and other events going on to honor servicemembers and all of them usually involve drinking beer. So the whole day is not somber, but enough of it is so people don’t lose the real meaning of the day.
It seems if Memorial Day was on a fixed date like ANZAC Day then a tradition like this could be established in the United States as well. However, as long as it remains at its current last Monday of May it will remain a holiday that represents the unofficial start of summer for most people.
Students clean the areas in between graves at the National Cemetery, where South Korean patriotic martyrs and war dead are laid to rest, in Seoul on May 26, 2015, ahead of Memorial Day, which falls on June 6. (Yonhap)
