St. Barbara on Memorial Day

Decoration Day began after the War for the Union/War of Southern Secession. People decorated the graves of the war's dead. It sprang up naturally, and diffusely. In a few years it became an opportunity for politics. Generals became easy nominees for high office. The South would hold on to the Lost Cause.

Confederate Memorial Day is still celebrated by southern states on different days. A national uniform date became 30 May. In 1971 by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, Memorial Day would be the final Monday in May.

Not until after WWII did the name 'Memorial Day' become popular. By that time it had become a part of the national civic religion. The current extreme form has recently been called 'American exceptionalism'*.

preparation

To-day is 30 May. Saint Barbara's Parish, Cleveland, Ohio has preserved the older date. For 57 years, Saint Barbara has maintained a continuous observance.
WWII memorial of the Parish's Military dead. The monument has remained intact on parish grounds, immediately before the church building. It was neither removed by the diocese, nor damaged [or destroyed] through neglect. The bluish line behind the monument is plastic down spout, the metal part was stolen, as was the flagpole by scrappers, after the eviction of the parishioners. The parish never officially closed, and is acknowledged to be officially opened. The parish has two parking lots, they remained chained and locked. Outside the church there is an ongoing road and bridge construction project; the 2nd District Police Commander came out to reroute traffic for the fifteen minute ceremony.

Taps
parishioners and 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, 4th Division

the old guard at the church's portal

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*the term is so new, that many spell check computer programmes will question the word