This episode is the oral version of my essay on Memorial Day 2021. It discusses the origins of Memorial Day as “Decoration Day,” a remembrance of Civil War dead that has its roots in the Appalachian decoration day ritual of decorating ancestors’ graves. The episode concludes with a recitation of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “Decoration Day.”

The episode begins with a discussion of last year's essay on Memorial Day, centered around the poem "In Flanders Fields." That essay can be read here: https://westof98.substack.com/p/decoration-day-2020-poppies

The referenced story in The Bitter Southerner, "Grave Concerns" by Jennifer Crossley Howard, about the decoration day traditions that persist today in the Deep South: https://bittersoutherner.com/grave-concerns-southern-decoration-day-tradition

The text of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Decoration Day" poem: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/05/a-memorial-day-poem-by-longfellow-from-the-atlantic-june-1882/239636/

As a special bonus, "Decoration Day" from the Drive-By Truckers, with Jason Isbell singing lead. It's not about the holiday, but it tells the story of a violent feud between Southern families and the veneration of ancestors and death plays an integral role in the story: https://open.spotify.com/track/3jemxe3JnL0QXCDh1DdEgV?si=557308f4a3f74290