By Charles Gbayor in Harper, Maryland County
Second Wednesday fell on March 14th and that day saw throngs of residents of Harper, Maryland County remembering their dead relatives and loved ones. The day was characterized by mixed reaction – some saddened by the fond memories of their dead relatives and others in jubilant mood.
Our Maryland Correspondent described the Decoration Day activities as memorable, and as George Hilary Yancy puts it, the purpose of the holiday is to remember the dead and cleaning their final resting place.
Family members and relatives were seen with machetes and hoes clearing bushes and cleaning around the graves, while others white-washed and still some others painted the graves of their loved ones. The day is never short of excitement as young men and women alike used the day to get some alcoholic beverages, sing gospel songs and dance to the beat of buckets as drums.
PHOTOS OF DECORATION DAY IN HARPER
Like Harper, all major cities in Liberia concomitantly celebrate Decoration Day in grand style, businesses close their doors and the day is exclusively devoted to remembering the dead.
What remains to seen is whether residents will keep the cemeteries in Harper clean or abandon them until the turn of 365 days before swarming the cemeteries to clean the graves again. Liberians normally forget the graves until Decoration Day.
But speaking in an interview, Mr. Yancy told Groove 106FM that on several occasions people were seen drunk driving motor vehicles and motor bikes and misbehaving in the name of celebrating holidays which may leads serious accident and sometimes death.
He cautioned Marylanders and all Liberians to stay away from alcoholic when celebrating all national holidays.
Miss Grace Y. Collins, a schoolteacher in Harper agrees. She was one of the thousands who had gone to the cemetery to remember her dead mother and father. Grace was seen black outfit as a traditional way to mourn the dead.
According to Grace, there is huge likelihood of people who drink and get drunk on holiday like Decoration Day causing accidents that may lead to injuries and deaths.
