8 Ways to Celebrate Memorial Day with Your Child
Remember Those Who Have Died When Celebrating the Memorial Holiday
May 23, 2009
Did you know that Memorial Day is more than an excuse for a long weekend or the day that the pool opens? Many children do not. Memorial Day is a national holiday to honor and remember those military personnel who have died in service to the country.
Since a Gallup Poll in the late 1990s revealed that only 28 percent of Americans knew the meaning of the Memorial Day Holiday, organizations, military and veterans groups have been working on ways to educate people about the real meaning of the holiday.
There are many ways of remembering those who have died on this holiday. Here are eight suggestions with easy ways to celebrate the real reason behind the Memorial Day Holiday with your child or children.
Learn More about Memorial Day
The US. Department of Veteran Affairs provides information to learn more about Memorial Day, originally celebrated as Decoration Day, or the day to decorate the graves of the soldiers who had died during the civil war. You can also learn more at Remembering on Memorial Day.
Read a Story about Memorial Day and Make a Memorial Day Craft
There are many stories about Memorial Day available at your bookstore or from an online bookstore. Making a Memorial Day craft can be as simple as making a flag, coloring in a poppy or drawing a Memorial Day poster. These activities can be combined to help explain the holiday to students. You could also have children make thank you cards to take to veterans at your local veteran's hospital.
Thank a Veteran or Military Personnel
If you know someone in the military or the family of someone who has served in the military, be sure to thank them for their service. You can give a card or flowers on Memorial Day.
Family members who have lost loved ones in military service will be touched that someone remembered their loved one and their sacrifice.
Watch the National Memorial Day Concert
PBS hosts the National Memorial Day Concert, broadcast during the Memorial Day weekend. In 2009, the broadcast will be on May 24, 2009. This year marks the twentieth year of giving people a time to remember, to heal and bring the country together.
An uplifting event, the National Memorial Day Concert features musical performances, documentary footage and dramatic readings to honor all those Americans who have served in the military and especially to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Observe the National Moment of Remembrance
The National Moment of Remembrance was created in 2000 by the White House Commission on Remembrance. According to a 2005 press release from the Department of Defense, The National Moment of Remembrance on Memorial Day is meant to serve "as an act of national unity, remembrance and re-dedication to the ideals upon which the nation was founded."
Carmella LaSpada, executive director of the White House Commission on Remembrance came up with the idea for a National Moment of Remembrance on Memorial Day 1996. She recognized that the real meaning of Memorial Day was being lost after asking a group of schoolchildren visiting Washington D.C. what Memorial Day was. These children replied that it was the day the pools open.
Participating is easy. At 3:00 p.m. local time, on Memorial Day pause where you are for one minute. The National Moment of Remembrance serves as an act of national unity.
Attend a Memorial Parade or Event
Check your local newspaper or check with your local veterans organization to find out the celebrations planned for Memorial Day.
Bring Flowers and Visit a Veterans' Cemetery
If you live near a Veterans' Cemetery you can bring flowers to place on the grave marker or headstone of someone who died in service to our country. Even if you don't live near an official veteran's cemetery often times one can find headstones of those who have served in the military where you could place flowers.
Wear a Buddy Poppy
The Buddy Poppy has been the symbol of remembering those who have died, since World War I. For a small donation you can get a poppy to wear as a tribute to those who have given their lives for the nation's freedom.
The poppies are made by veterans at Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities and veterans homes throughout the country. The VFW's (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Buddy Poppy program has raised millions of dollars since 1922 to support veterans and their dependents.
Find out more about the Buddy Poppy at What is the Buddy Poppy?
Remembering Those Who Have Died on Memorial Day
Celebrating the real reason for Memorial Day can be pretty simple, just remember the 8 suggestions for ways that you can help your child, tween or teen learn about the real reason for the holiday.
Taking a moment to remember the real reason for the three or four day holiday is a way to pay tribute and to say thanks for those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
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