Lei Day (1 May) (213)

The Narcissus Festival in April has Chinese origins. "Lei Day is May Day" say the celebrants on May first. However, the lei, large colourful garlands of orchids worn around the neck, are a sign of friendship and welcome for visitors to the islands all year.

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9. Memorial Day (30 May) (2180)

It was 1866, and the United States was recovering from the long and bloody Civil War between the North and the South. Surviving soldiers came home, some with missing limbs, and all with stories to tell. Henry Welles, a drugstore owner in Waterloo, New York, suggested that all the shops in town close for one day to honour the soldiers who were buried in the Waterloo cemetery On the morning of May 5, the townspeople placed flowers, wreaths and crossed on the graves of the Northern soldiers in the cemetery. At about the same time, General Jonathan Logan planned another ceremony, this time for the soldiers who survived the war. He led the veterans through town to the cemetery to decorate their comrades' graves with flags. It was not a happy celebration, but a memorial.

The two ceremonies were joined in 1868, and northern states commemorated the day in May 30. Children read poems and sang civil war songs, and veterans came to school wearing their medals and uniforms to tell students about the Civil War. Then the veterans marched through their home towns, followed by the townspeople to the cemetery. Rifles were shot in the air as a salute to the northern soldiers who had given their lives to keep the United State together.

In the northern United States, it was designated a legal holiday. The southern states commemorated their war dead on different days. In 1791 Memorial was declared a national holiday on the last Monday in May.

Memorial Day is not limited to honour only those Americans from the armed forces. It is also a day for personal remembrance. Families and individuals honour the memories of their loved ones who have died. Church services, or even silent tribute mark the day with dignity and solemnity. It is a day of reflection.

In Waterloo, New York, the origin has not been lost. President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed Waterloo the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1966,100 years after the first commemoration. Every May 30 townspeople still walk to the cemeteries and hold memorial services. They decorate the graves with flags and flowers. In the evening, school children take part in a parade. It is an equal honour to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier all year. There are actually four soldiers of the two World Wars, the Korean conflict, and the Vietnam War. Each soldier represents all of those who gave their lives in the modern wars.

On Memorial Day, the President or Vice President of the United States gives a speech and lays a wreath on the tombs. Members of the armed forces shoot a rife salute in the air. There is a chance that one of the soldiers buried here is a father, son brother or friend.

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