By HILARY NUTTING
Memorial Day weekend, the last weekend in May, spurs images of smoking barbecues, the aroma of hamburgers sizzling on the grill, picnics in the park and a rollicking game of Frisbee.
While family-oriented activities are a large part of Memorial Day celebrations today, there is a solemnity to this holiday that is largely forgotten by the current generation. Memorial Day's roots are not in perfecting the barbecued hot dog but in remembering those who have died in service to the nation.
There are varied stories of Memorial Day's origins, but the holiday was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868, by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic and first observed May 30, 1868. Flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery to remember those who died fighting in the Civil War.
In 1873, New York became the first state to officially recognize the holiday. By 1890 it was recognized by all northern states, with some southern states abstaining.
Today, Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday of May in most all states. Some southern states have additional days designated to remember fallen Confederate soldiers.
Memorial Day was traditionally celebrated May 30, until 1971. Congress changed its observance to the last Monday in May, not always May 30, with the passing of the National Holiday Act.
The act ensured a three-day holiday weekend for federal holidays, a change which spurred controversy. Some believed creating a three-day weekend diminished the holiday's true meaning. A bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in 1999 to restore Memorial Day to a May 30 celebration, but has not developed further.
Ways to celebrate the more traditional aspects of Memorial Day include the wearing of a red poppy. The tradition stems from Moina Michael, who in 1915 began wearing a red poppy to honor those who died serving the nation during war.
Michael was inspired by John Mcrae's 1915 poem "In Flanders Fields," which tells of poppies blowing between crosses marking soldiers' graves. She responded with a poem of her own:
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.
Michael was the first to wear a red poppy on Memorial Day, then sold poppies to others, using proceeds to benefit servicemen in need. Some of today's observers still wear read poppies on Memorial Day.
In Big Bear, there is a Memorial Day observance Remember Our Soldiers at Meadow Park 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, May 28. All event proceeds go to AnySoldier.com. Call Mel and Kathy Frese for information, (909) 584-9340, or visit AnySoldier.com.
Other ways to honor fallen servicemen on Memorial Day:
€ Visit cemeteries and place flags or flowers on graves of fallen servicemen.
€ Visit memorials.
€ Fly the U.S. Flag at half-staff until noon.
€ Fly the POW/MIA Flag.
€ Observe the National Moment of Remembrance at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day to think about the holiday's meaning.
€ Play "Taps."
€ Renew a pledge to aid the widows, widowers and orphaned of fallen servicemen and to aid disabled veterans.