Memorial Day is right around the corner on Monday, May 26, and with it, Livingston’s annual parade. This year is a special one, as the town’s first Memorial Day Parade was held 75 years ago in 1950. Three quarters of a century later, the parade is one of Livingston’s biggest and best events of every year, allowing the community to pay its respects in grand fashion.
First known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in that conflict. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died in all of our nation’s wars. Volunteers would place American flags on the graves of veterans, hence the name Decoration Day.
In recent decades, however, Memorial Day has become known more as the official start of the summer season. It’s a long holiday weekend that is often dedicated to fun gatherings of family and friends. It has also, like so many other holidays, been hijacked by commercial interests to tout retail sales promotions.
But we know that Memorial Day is not about the best sales deals. And while there’s absolutely nothing wrong with gathering with family and friends to welcome the advent of summer, Memorial Day should be about more than that. It should be a day when we reflect – if only for a few moments – on the many thousands of people who gave their lives for our country and our way of life. Since the days when our nation was a loosely organized group of rebellious colonies, citizens have stepped up to make the ultimate sacrifice so that their fellow countrymen can live in freedom. Everything our nation has, every freedom we enjoy, has been paid for in blood.
We’re hoping the residents of Livingston will step back, refocus on the true meaning of Memorial Day, and show their respect and gratitude for those who died for our freedom by supporting the town’s annual Memorial Day parade. And by that we don’t mean just attending it (and the services held that morning prior to the procession). We mean supporting it financially.
The parade has been a long-standing tradition in Livingston since the middle of the last century. But it costs money. Just as freedom isn’t free, neither is the parade. Although many volunteers put their hearts and souls into it, there are myriad costs involved. Many towns all over the U.S. have eliminated their Memorial Day parades due to cost considerations. Livingston has continued to hold one, but each year, it becomes more difficult.
We’re asking everyone to give, if only a little, in the form of a sponsorship to help keep our parade going. Please make checks payable to Township of Livingston – Memorial Day Parade Committee. They should be mailed to 357 South Livingston Avenue, Livingston, NJ, 07039. Donations may be made in any amount.
We all remember how it felt not to have a parade in 2020 and 2021. It was one of several annual events we had to put on pause due to the pandemic, and it was dearly missed, just as it was roundly celebrated when it returned a few years ago. Let us do what we can to ensure that we do not miss out on any future Memorial Day parades in Livingston and keep this tradition alive. In doing so, we pay tribute to those servicemen and women whose lives were cut short in the cause of freedom.
