英语博客(A cup of English):082 Memorial Day.

　　Beginners.
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday that is observed on the last Monday of May. It is to remember all the soldiers that have died in the various wars around the world, even the Civil War which started in 1861 and ended in 1865. The tradition started in this country because of the Civil War, and was expanded after the First World War. Normally, people visit cemeteries¹ and put flowers on the graves of loved ones, even those who weren't soldiers. The graves of soldiers are decorated with flags. It has become a tradition at 3pm local time, that a formal service of remembrance takes place. The President of the U.S will usually visit a famous cemetery² and make a speech, and then all across the country, there will be similar services performed by officials of the local government. Though the official day for observing Memorial Day was May 30th, it has become a tradition of celebrating it early and making it into a three-day weekend holiday. Many people plan a short vacation get-a-way. The roads become very busy with families picnicking, travelling to different towns, and also flying to other destinations.
Related vocabulary: to observe, to expand, remembrance, cemetery, get-a-way.
Exs:
It is a tradition to observe that special day. We usually get together with friends and family for a barbecue.
Her waist has expanded quite a bit because she eats too many desserts.
Remembrance Day reminds us of the great sacrifices that some have made for us.
It was such a dark, windy night, that the couple didn't realize that they had stumbled³ into a creepy cemetery.
I need a get-a-way. Where can we fly cheaply just a few days?
Advanced.
Seeing a cemetery filled with flags fluttering⁴ in the wind is quite a sight. It makes you stop and think. And that, of course, is the point to the day, to stop and think. In England we celebrate Poppy Day which has the same reason as Memorial Day. Poppy Day, however, is observed on 11th of November, as that is the day that the First World War came to an end. Other countries such as Canada and New Zealand also use poppies to observe this day. But why poppies? The reason we use poppies is because a soldier of the First World War, John McCrae, who was a canadian, wrote a poem called In Flanders Fields. Flanders fields were full of poppies, and so, that flower, being a meaningful blood red color, became adopted as the memorial flower. McCrae wrote the poem after witnessing his best friend die in the trenches⁵. He actually threw the poem away, but another soldier found the paper and sent in to a London-based newspaper called Punch. The rest is history. Here in the U.S, the flag is the most well known symbol for Memorial Day because of the reunification of the United States after the civil war. It is very patriotic⁶, but the sentiment⁷ behind the symbol is just as strong as the blood colored poppy.

1 cemeteries   

n.（非教堂的）墓地，公墓( cemetery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like. 不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In other districts the proximity of cemeteries seemed to aggravate the disease. 在其它地区里，邻近墓地的地方，时疫大概都要严重些。 来自辞典例句

2 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

3 stumbled   

v.（不顺畅地）说( stumble的过去式和过去分词 )；跌跌撞撞地走；绊脚；（说话、演奏等）出错

参考例句：

• I stumbled and sprained my ankle. 我摔了一跤，把脚脖子扭了。
• The child stumbled and fell. 孩子绊了一下，摔倒了。

4 fluttering   

v.飘动( flutter的现在分词 )；（心）快速跳动；振翼，拍翅膀

参考例句：

• The women were all fluttering about finishing their preparations for the wedding. 女人们做好婚礼准备后显得不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was autumn, and leaves were fluttering down in the light wind. 现在是秋天，树叶在微风中飘落下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

6 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

7 sentiment   

n.感情，情趣，意见，观点，多愁善感

参考例句：

• He has illustrated this sentiment thoroughly in a drama.他在一出戏剧里充分地表现了这种感情。
• Should sentiment be controlled by reason?感情应受理智的控制吗？