Backyard grilling, potato salad and cole slaw, the opening day of many community pools, the faux first day of summer, America's Memorial Day today is far from its origins in an era when many more people had actually experienced the loss of friends and family to war.
It began semi officially in May of 1868 as a way to honor the Civil War dead on the winning side of the conflict. General Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic was the prime mover behind the day "designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion.." Back then it was widely known as Decoration Day. Southerners on the losing side did not cotton to the fact that their war dead were overlooked, and held their own remembrances on other days. After World War I, the day was expanded to embrace those fallen soldiers as well. It became a national holiday in 1971.
This website created by veteran David Merchant, who has several eclectic web offerings, laments that Memorial Day has lost its sacred tone.
" Traditional observance of Memorial Day has diminished over the years. Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected. Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. While there are towns and cities that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in decades. Some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead, and not just those fallen in service to our country."
Merchant suggests that the seductive three day weekend aspect of Memorial Day has further diluted its impact...
According to one "holiday" website, many people evidently are confused as to the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day as both focus on the military. Carrying no culinary baggage we know of, Veterans Day is celebrated on November 11. First established as Armistice Day to note the end of "the war to end all wars," WWI, it now embraces veterans of all kinds, some dead, some not.
And then there's June 14, Flag Day. And the 4th of July, another picnic-y celebration.
Foodie recently met a very young woman whose husband, just out of high school, is an infantry soldier serving in Iraq. He joined "because after high school he didn't know what direction to go," she said. "He just figured maybe he could get money for college. He scored very well on all the tests and expected to be placed in Army intelligence. "
With the military honored appropriately, maybe it's time for a national holiday noting all the other people who serve America--teachers, plumbers, poets, oceanographers, social workers, arborists and nurserymen, cartographers, law enforcement and firefighters, cooks, medical researchers, painters, civil engineers, veterinarians, nannies and babysitters, farmers and gardeners, dock workers, techies of all stripes, librarians, public defenders, shrinks, truckers, musicians, satirists, mail carriers, Peace Corps volunteers, home health aids, historians, bloggers...
Yeah well, OK, come on, let's eat! Back to the day's typical menu, this one from texascooking.com:
- Southwestern Barbecued Chicken
- Cowboy Pinto Beans
- Grilled Corn on the Cob
- Grandma's Cole Slaw
- Dish Bread
- Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream
- Grandma's Sugar Cookies
Or this one: Baked beans, grilled onions/eggplant/peppers/tomatoes/zucchini, spud salad, Belgian endive salad with walnuts, blue cheese and grapes, garlic bread, and grilled beets rolled in dill butter. Fudge cake.
(Spud salad pic from http://www.bernhards.at/. which makes the salad Austrian, probably served warm. Yum. Check out Chef Bernhard's website: "Learn how to cook Austrian food, detailed descriptions of Austrian recipes. This website is made for all people in cyberland who want to learn about Austrian cuisine, Austrian cooking and the Austrian way; what do Austrians eat, Austrian dishes that you will meet on the menu of Austrian restaurants and many more mainly traditional food recipes.")
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