Friends, Memorial Day and old time celebration

Memorial weekend is for most people the beginning of the Summer time, picnics and barbecue (weather allowing) and old fashion celebration, fairs, garage sale, outdoor concerts and my old time favourite...

Memorial Day was in fact called originally Decoration Day and a quick search engine offered much I did not know!

"Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war).

It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

In 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields," Moina Michael replied with her own poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

She then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need.

Later a Madam Guerin from France was visiting the United States and learned of this new custom started by Ms.Michael and when she returned to France, made artificial red poppies to raise money for war orphaned children and widowed women. This tradition spread to other countries.

In 1921, the Franco-American Children's League sold poppies nationally to benefit war orphans of France and Belgium. The League disbanded a year later and Madam Guerin approached the VFW for help. Shortly before Memorial Day in 1922 the VFW became the first veterans' organization to nationally sell poppies.

Two years later their "Buddy" Poppy program was selling artificial poppies made by disabled veterans. In 1948 the US Post Office honored Ms Michael for her role in founding the National Poppy movement by issuing a red 3 cent postage stamp with her likeness on it. "

The veterans have a saying: "Remember the living, never forget the dead".
Let's remember each and everyone of them!


This weekend I celebrated my birthday with friends and family. No chance for a picnic though as it continues to rain! The menu : Potato salad, baked beans, hot dogs, brownies and tall glasses of lemonade!
And I will even share my favourite lemonade recipe:

Items to have on hand:

• 6 lemons
• 1 cup white sugar
• 6 cups cold water

To prepare:

1. Juice the lemons to make 1 cup of juice. To make your labour easier, FIRMLY roll the lemons between your hand and counter top before cutting in half and juicing.
2. In a large pitcher combine 1 cup lemon juice, 1 cup sugar, and 6 cups cold water. Stir. Adjust water to taste. Chill and serve in chilled glasses.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day!