Corona fears and the joy of summer .. Americans celebrate "Memorial Day"
Today, Monday, May 25, the United States celebrates its "Memorial Day" to honor and remind people of soldiers killed in battlefields and military operations.
Today is a federal holiday in the country, and it is celebrated on the last Monday in May each year.
The celebration of this day began as a basis for honoring the American Civil War dead, as Memorial Day was revived three years after the end of the north-south civil war, which rocked the country for four years from 1861 to 1865.
And after the First World War, the occasion turned from a day to remember the victims of the civil war, to an honor to honor the members of the American army, men and women, who lost their lives in the service of their country.
The "Veterans Day", which honors all those who served in the American armed forces, differs from the "Memorial Day" for those who died in combat.
Ceremonial ceremony
During the celebration of this day, huge motorcade processions roam the main streets of Washington, DC, and are led by men with muscular muscles, with bright yellow mustaches, placing American flags on their shaved heads.
This day is an important political and social event in the United States, and is celebrated by millions of people across the country, during which they are keen to visit cemeteries and memorials to have mercy on the lives of soldiers who died in the many wars that America fought in the past, and those that are currently fighting.
The Mount Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota welcomed visitors again from Saturday, earlier than expected, to fans admiring the 60-foot granite sculptures of the faces of American presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
And celebrations are held in many streets and squares for this day, as they are toured by bands, and the participants in these celebrations are keen to carry pictures of war victims.
Visit the graves
On this occasion, families visit graves and place bouquets of roses on the graves of their loved ones, and families of soldiers who have died in battlefields usually gather in public halls, where messages of longing, pride, and love from family members are read, before going to the graves next to lay wreaths of flowers Various colors and sizes on the graves of soldiers.
The Arlington National Cemetery, which is located on the outskirts of the capital, is one of the largest American cemeteries, as it contains the remains of 290,000 US soldiers who have died in various wars in the United States, visited by more than 4 million people annually.
Cautious holiday
For Americans, the weekend of Remembrance Day marks the official start of the summer season, when the weather is warmer and universities are shaking up in preparation for the summer vacation.
People take advantage of this atmosphere by attending the parade, going to the beaches, or cooking al fresco cuisine with friends and family.
The weekend before the Memorial Day event got off to a cautious start last Saturday, especially in New York, the epicenter of the Coronavirus epidemic.
One day after New York Governor Andrew Como announced allowing gatherings of no more than 10 people to attend honoring military veterans, he warned at his press conference that social separation and wearing of masks should be part of any gathering plans.
The new epidemic of Corna (Covid-19) caused the deaths of about 100,000 people in the United States, causing the number of its victims to outnumber the victims of the Vietnamese and Korean wars combined, as 58,220 Americans died in Vietnam, while 36,574 Americans were killed in hostilities at the scene of the war events Korean, according to the Veterans Memorial of that War.
Although the official holiday for Memorial Day comes on Monday, the weekend preceding it represents an informal start to the summer, as Americans usually flock to the beaches and gather at barbecues in the backyards of their homes and go out into the parks for walks.
Adhere to the instructions
Some lay on the beaches to take sunbathing, others used boats to fish, while some practiced walking in the streets, but seeing those who put gags from time to time reminded others that the world was still fighting the Corona pandemic.
On Saturday, a few people put up masks while walking on a crowded road in Ocean City, Maryland, seeing muzzles was also a rare event on other beaches, but most people committed themselves to diverging inside small groups and avoided playing on the beach.
The torrential rains led to fewer visitors to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut beaches that were reopened, while state governors urged enthusiasts to go outdoors to keep at least two meters recommended to prevent the virus from spreading.
Some city and county beaches remained closed, with some local officials concerned about the influx of New Yorkers into those areas, after their city mayor Bill de Palacio decided to keep its beaches closed to swimming lovers.
A surprising decision to open other overseas places gave an overwhelming feeling of happiness to home-locked Americans in adherence to public isolation measures.