Hi Friend,

After seven years of engaging with ReMembering and Origin Stories and Circular Time and re-narrating the major holidays of the year: only now have I begun to look at the holiday of Memorial Day.  This missive pulls together some of the themes that I've been seeing intertwining in this particular holiday.

This important American public holiday, the last Monday in May, is something of a paradox: it honors two almost (but not actually) oppositional sentiments: officially, it serves to honor the U.S. military personnel who have lost their life while in service (the official and clearly stated reason for the holiday). It is also the 'unofficial' beginning of summer: the time to bring out the BBQ, go swimming, plant your garden, visit a national park, wear open toed shoes and begin the Summer Travel Season.   And (in a country where nationalism and capitalism are deeply entertwined): go shopping.

Below I’ve put together some different aspects of this holiday that might support how you are thinking about it. For those of you based outside of the United States, I think that these bigger questions of 'what do we memorialize' and the way that the.beginning of summer is intertwined with symbolism of 'what is the nation' is of relevance.

Some themes and ideas:

* Historically in the United States, Memorial Day, which arose after the Civil War, was first celebrated most prominently in the black community, to honor the many black soldiers who died for the community's collective freedom from slavery. For people like Frederick Douglas, this was a very important holiday, and one he worked to ensure that the antebellum south did not overtake with pro-confederate narratives. Here is one of his speeches, delivered in Rotchester NY in 1882 where he argues the importance of continuing to engage with Decoration Day - and not to forget what so many men actually died for (several other orators at the same time were arguing that the civil war was not, actually, about freeing people who had been enslaved). He's a brilliant writer, and I definitely recommend reading this speech. 

*Originally called Decoration Day, Memorial Day is celebrated at the end of May because of the focus on the flowers which are used to decorate the graves. Flowers... which are alive in the Northeast (where so many of these holidays originate and are codified) in a way they had not been for the previous 6 months of winter. Honoring the dead in the midst of the brightness of summer is doing what many rituals try to do: bringing together seeming opposites. In this case, life (flowers) and death (graves). 

* The physical posture - decorating the graves with flowers - is a kind of ritual, and one of the few American public rituals that invites people to touch the earth, connect with the dead, and lean into animist and religious intersections. Given that the energy of the summer season tends to be one of opening up towards the sky/sun, the energy of looking towards the soil and towards the dead can act as a kind of counter-balance. Such a counter-balance is critically important in many rituals.

* It is one of the few public holidays in America that is explicitly honoring a collection of ancestors (not just one person). 

* Here is an article from the Smithsonian that talks a bit about Native people and Memorial Day in America. In 2020, the National Native American Veterans Memorial opened at the National Museum of the American Indian in DC. This arose from years of effort to have more Americans recognize Native American Veterans. (The article talks about the design of the Warriors' Circle of Honor - definitely worth checking out!) 

* Just as a clarification: Veterans Day is on Nov 11. This echoes the shared experience of WWI in the UK and France, which also recognizes those who have died in battle. In the UK, Remembrance Day, Nov 11, and Remembrance Sunday, has similarities to both Memorial Day and Veterans Day. In France, following the end of WWI, Remembrance Day or Armistice Day is also on 11 Nov. Veterans Day recognizes everyone who has served in the military (including those who are still living). Memorial Day recognizes all who have served in the military (and is not linked to any one particular war).

*We need holidays to mark the beginning and the end of summer - especially in those locations which have so many long, cold, dark days through winter.

* It is worth noting that there is a continual struggle between those who want Memorial Day to be a somber occasion and those who want the holiday to be filled with summer-orientated celebrations. Some do not think the phrase "Happy Memorial Day" is appropriate. Others, especially those focusing on summer and parades, absolutely do.

* Interlaced with Memorial Day is the American colors of the Red White and Blue ... which actually continues all summer: from Memorial Day to Flag Day to Juneteenth to the 4th of July through Labor Day. The summer season is intertwined with a kind of (sometimes low-key and sometimes explicit) expression of nationalism.

* I'm starting to imagine the summer season as a kind of a triangle that starts with Memorial Day, then goes up to a crescendo at the Fourth of July (which is shortly after Summer Solstice, which is not yet a federal holiday) and then slowly heads towards Labor Day, marking the unofficial end of summer (and it used to mark the beginning of the school year). These patriotic-enfused, symbolism-heavy holidays frame the summer season.

* For those people who (like myself) grew up in or are part of a peace church or pacifist community, Memorial Day is particularly complex holiday. How can we honor those who have died without glorifying continued militarization? Here's an article looking at how pacifists have engaged with Memorial Day.

What are we memorializing?

* I have never fought in a battle or a war. I don't think I understand, really, what it means to volunteer or be conscripted for military services, either in this country or in other countries. I imagine, from what I've heard, that there is at the base of it a love that is for the people, the land, and the cosmovision ("fighting for democracy"; "fighting for who we are").

* One can support warriors, veterans, and honor those fallen in battle without supporting the continued militarization, military spending, and the violence that arises from continual militarization both within and outside of the United States. One does not need to conflate the practice of honoring those who serve in the military with supporting continued militarization. 

* There are many forms of peace. Those forms of peace that arise from mutual understanding (and not the forced control from an imperial force, ie, 'pax romanus') is never passive. Peace requires a lot of activity. And work. And courage. It can have its own kind of warrior-energy.

* Summer brings with it the practical and idealized versions of engaging with land and waters, especially through travel and being out-of-doors. How are we conceptualizing the purpose of travel, and whose lands are we traveling through and celebrating on? What is the act of travel in and of itself memorializing?

We are working on our upcoming Fourth of July event. In which questions of the origins of democracy and 'what are we memorializing' play a critical role.

Blessings,

Sara Jolena