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Email a FriendPosted by Claire on Friday, May 28, 2010 8:57 PM (EDT):
That sounds like so much fun! And what a great way to honor the original meaning of the holiday.
History Feast
My family's Memorial Day tradition
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Friday, May 28, 2010 7:28 PM
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved Memorial Day weekend.
Because it’s the beginning of summer, of course, that wonderful time of sunburned shoulders and skinned knees and playing outside until the mosquitoes chase you in. But also because our hometown has a colonial reenactment feast every year on this weekend. When you’re a kid, can many things be more magical than a reenactment feast?
I certainly didn’t think so.
The anticipation started on Friday evening, when the smell of woodsmoke would drift out of the park downtown where they held the feast. Across the temporary fences you could see the reenactors pitching their canvas tents, cooking food in tin pots over their small fires. They wore what I thought of as “old-fashioned” clothes, garments that looked to me like they came right from the pages of the Little House stories or my favorite book about a young girl living through the American Revolution.
I wanted to wear clothes like that, long skirts and ruffled blouses and bonnets. I knew my shorts and t-shirts must be much more comfortable, but the colonial costumes looked so romantic. I loved to see the ladies walking around in them.
On Saturday morning my family would be at the gate soon after the feast opened, to get our hands stamped so we could return as many times as we wanted over the weekend. We’d split up, often – the girls to look at fabric and jewelry and the boys to find weapons – but we’d meet up again to browse the toys and watch the blacksmith.
The blacksmith was my favorite part. He did his work the old-fashioned way, sticking pieces of hot iron in the fire until they were orange, then hammering them quickly around an anvil. He’d heat and hammer, heat and hammer, until he had the shape he wanted.
My parents bought a huge iron triangle from him. It came with a stick we used to ring it, and it served as our dinner gong for years. Everyone in the neighborhood knew the sound of the Thomas’s triangle, ringing the children home at supper time.
My sisters and I would sit on the grass and watch the blacksmith for a long time, quiet and fascinated by his work. I think he liked our wide-eyed appreciation, because once he took a piece of iron and shaped it deftly into a little heart-shaped hook, then gave it to us. We loved it.
Because we’ve been traveling the past couple years, this year is the first time we get to take Camilla to the feast. I can’t wait to see her excitement, to watch her enjoy it, to see which parts she finds most interesting. Many of the reenactors sell handmade wooden toys; I’m guessing those will be a big hit.
Maybe I’ll also buy her a little heart-shaped iron hook from the blacksmith’s table. I think she would like that.
I hope your Memorial Day weekend is as fun as ours is going to be!
Comments
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Posted by Lina MGM on Saturday, May 29, 2010 4:56 PM (EDT):
as fun as this sounds ( i wish something like it was around here!), its a holiday for fallen soldiers - how does it fit with that?
unless there is a battle reinactment that goes along with it?
Posted by Arwen Mosher on Saturday, May 29, 2010 6:01 PM (EDT):
Lina, there is reenactment of battles, yes. But I didn’t mean to imply that it was specifically a Memorial Day celebration. In fact, the event only lasts through Sunday evening. It just happens to fall on Memorial Day weekend in our town every year.
Posted by Lina MGM on Saturday, May 29, 2010 9:01 PM (EDT):
thanks for clarifying arwen. my comment was more directed at claire who talked about “the original meaning,” that’s what confused me.
like i said, sounds like fun!
Posted by Claire on Sunday, May 30, 2010 2:41 PM (EDT):
I was assuming there would be a reenactment, as I tend to associate these things with historical battles. I guess maybe it’s a stretch, but it seems to me a more meaningful way to celebrate (with some ties to our historic military) than just having a day off from work for family picnics. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that; that’s what we’ll be doing at my house.)
Posted by Therese on Saturday, May 29, 2010 10:17 AM (EDT):
This year, Memorial Day has a special meaning for me. One of our Confirmation students lost his brother, Lance Cpl. Javier Olvera in combat last August. Javier was 20 years old. His Mom’s fear is that people will forget the sacrifice he made. This summer, our good priest friend, Ch Maj John Love, is stationed in Landstuhl at the medical center there. He told me the hospital is in desperate need. As the wounded soldiers are flown in daily, (between 25-50 EACH DAY) they arrive with nothing but their dirty bloody uniforms. They are immediatly given a care package with personal items. He said this package makes such a difference in the attitude of the soldiers. Right now, they are in need of large, soft bath towels. My class is heading up a donation project for this cause in memory of Javier, and all the soldiers who sacrifice for us. If anyone woud like to donate towels for our Wounded Warrioirs, let me know…the USPS will give you shipping materials for free and the shipping is a flat rate of only $12.50…plus, they will even pick it up from your home! If you would like more info, please feel free to email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) Let’s not let a life lost ever be forgotten…because that is what Memorial Day is all about.
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