Food, Fun and Family History

Memorial Day celebrations in Utah teach young family members about ancestors and longstanding family traditions, according to Randy Williams, Fife Folklore Archives curator at Utah State University. Student research housed at the archives shoes that a good deal of food and fun is combined with the practice of decorating ancestral graves.

(Originally known as Decoration Day, the Memorial Day holiday honors the country’s military dead with patriotic and floral tributes.)

 

For more information about Utah traditions, contact Randy Williams, curator, Fife Folklore Archives, Special Collections and Archives, Utah State University Libraries, 435-797-3493, randy.williams@usu.edu. For information about Memorial Day and other military holidays, contact Capt. James Lovewell, USAF; assistant professor, Aerospace Studies, commandant of Cadets, AFROTC Det. 860, Utah State University, 435-797-8734, james.lovewell@usu.edu.