Take an exception from the idea that Memorial Day introduces summer and the fun, fun things we can all enjoy a few days before Memorial Day and many days after what has been designated for Memorial Day as the last Monday in May. It rained on Friday, maybe on Saturday and Sunday, but hopefully, on Monday, Memorial Day, the sky will be a beautiful blue and the temperature will call for giving thought for happy walks. But wait a minute — is that the real purpose for this holiday?

This article was designed to include some of the many events which do take place as we enter into summer. It is important, but a bit difficult, to remember Memorial Day has been specifically designated as a day to honor our Military men and women who died in wars. This number has moved from 500,000 in the Civil War to 100,000 in other wars in which the United States has been involved.

So, why is that difficult to remember? Well, one reason would be that if you look for information about Memorial Day, you are more apt to find pages and pages of descriptions of fun things to do. These include the Shrine Circus on Tuesday June 18 at the Bannock County Event Center with its “death defying acrobatic acts, rides on camels or ponies and more”; a Father’s Day fishing derby; the River Fest in August; International Choral Fest on July 4 through 11(held only every 3 years); Car racing at the Pocatello Raceway on June 6 through July 13; the Sagebrush Art Festival in August; The Bannock Independence Celebration on Thursday July 4, Fireworks on July 3 at the Bannock Shoshone area; another Circus at the Mountain View Event Center in Chubbuck on Monday, May 27; a wine tasting event at the Idaho Zoo for adults only to raise funds for the animals on June 15: a Run on June 19 for women and girls at the City Creek Bike Trails. The run will be two miles long and is sponsored by SAS (sisters in Action); Horse racing on Sunday and Monday at the Bannock County Event Center; a Food Fest in Old Town Pocatello on June 29 from 2 to 7 p.m. (information to be available later). By the time you check out the fun summer events listed above and advertisements extolling wonderful sales for old women, young women and very young children, it isn’t a surprise that one can stop and think “Wait a minute; I thought it was Memorial Day we were going to read more about.”

Added to the above list, it is important to remember that on Monday, Memorial Day, State Highway 15 will be carrying more cars than at any other time in the year. Why? Well, this is the “official” beginning of summer and so we had better get started on that vacation we had planned. So you can see that for many people, the true importance of Memorial Day is to prepare for summer fun, fun, fun.

One might explore the Internet further to read information about the true purpose of Memorial Day, which is “to Honor the Military men and women who have died in United States Wars” There, you can see that this Day, originally described as Decoration Day, has been celebrated for over 150 years. It is celebrated by many as a day to place an American Flag at the grave of each and every deceased soldier and put American flags at half-mast until noon and then again place the flag at full mast. The purpose of these actions is to honor our soldiers because of the heroism they represent.

Some things we should not do on Memorial Day: Don’t wish Happy Memorial Day to a member of our armed forces; don’t thank current members of our Armed Forces just because it is Memorial Day; Don’t disregard the importance of this Day; Don’t let politics keep you from rendering respect to this day; it was not founded in joy. It’s OK that Memorial Day has become a day to deposit flowers at the graves of deceased men and women soldiers. Family reunions are also an event on this day.

Reading about the changes in dates, purposes and intent attached to Memorial Day provide all of us with a sterling example of the development of the “the rule of law.” So, even though our thoughts may focus on belief rather than fact or politics versus our Constitution, we all should focus on the lives that have been given to honor, uphold, respect and defend our Democracy.

Kay Merriam of Pocatello has a Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut. She was the president of the state League of Women Voters for two years and president of the Pocatello chapter for two years as well. She was the president of the Bannock County Planning and Zoning Committee for 11 years and on the Pocatello-Chubbuck District 25 School Board for six years.