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From patriotic magnetic flags or yellow ribbons on cars, mailboxes, tied to trees in our yards, and Old Glory flying high and proud, patriotism is on the rise, and has become ever more important to us in our day to day lives. Annual Independence Day celebrations on the 4th of July, Memorial Day celebrations, Flag Day celebrations, Veteran’s Day celebrations, and even Thanksgiving Day celebrations, are opportunities to let our patriotism show in the colors we wear, and the traditions and institutions we honor. Independence Day celebrates the birthday of our America, July 4th, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed. July 4th, 2006 was America’s 230th birthday.
Memorial Day, is a federal holiday observed on the last Monday in May, to honor men and women who have died in military service to their country. It began as a celebration to honor Union soldiers who died in the American Civil War, but after World War I, it was changed to include anyone who died in any military action.
In April of 1893 the first Flag Day was proposed and declared to be held in honor of the flag that represents America each year on June 14th.
Veteran’s Day began on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Originally called Armistice Day, November 11 officially became a holiday in the United States in 1926, and a national holiday 12 years later. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.
Thanksgiving, a harvest celebration long held in Europe, was established as a National holiday by President Andrew Johnson in 1867, and is observed the last Thursday in November.
Though these holidays all differ, and have separate traditions and elements specific to each holiday, they all hold our American traditions and beliefs dear. With patriotism running high, the holidays in which we honor our country, and those who fought, and are still fighting, for freedom across the globe, are especially dear to us all. Celebrations, in which families and friends gather to honor our country, our country’s soldiers, veterans, and loved ones both near and far, have increased into celebrations of patriotism. Families gathered together for these celebrations still celebrate in the traditional ways, but there is a sense of pride, a sense of honor, a sense of the recognition that the things we hold dear like freedom, like democracy, like the pursuit of happiness, are not a given, and we just seem to hold those intangible things that define life in America a little more dear.
In the midst of Independence Day picnics and fireworks, Thanksgiving Dinners with family gathered around, Veteran’s Days, Memorial Day’s, and Flag Days, there are increasing moments of quiet reflection–time to give thanks for the bounty that is America. Consider adding to these elements, quietly orchestrated opportunities, to reflect on our good fortune to be able to live in this country where we are free, while the cost of freedom is, was, and continues to be high. You can watch movies like 4th of July, The Patriot, Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Pearl Harbor, The North and The South, and other movies that illustrate so well the high cost of freedom, are good ways to provoke discussion and promote patriotism on these patriotic holidays.
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