Recovering my own Memory Lane

As I child I always wanted to ask and know about our story, though information was rarely forthcoming.

“Mammy, Did you and Aunty Ju fight a lot?

How naughty was I?

Tell me about me and Debbie?”

I wanted to know the details and the why/ how much/ why not? My own children were the same in adolescence – they wanted to hear about themselves as young children: Mammy, tell me about the time we…

When my Mammy came to live with us in 2006, I still wanted her to tell me the stories. She told me the same few stories that she’d always told about her own childhood. And good that she did, because before long, I was having to prop her up with those same stories that she was beginning to forget. As her short term memory lost it’s grip altogether, the deeper, older memories became stronger and more significant. It was like the roof had blown off and she had moved downstairs. As she forgot the recent and latter parts of her life upstairs, she also lost some of the show – the inhibitions, the secrets, the niceties and reserve were blown away like the loose fittings and the stories she told and the way that she spoke felt as real and profound as a fairy-tale. I learned so much about this beloved woman in those months. She was clinging to the old furnishings and we described them together over and over. Sometimes she would venture upstairs with me, but it was windy and precarious up there and there was little left, but sometimes she would like me to describe what it had been like before.

This was our special journey together down ‘Memory Lane’. It was important for my own processing and growth. Mammy also showed me surprising hidden closets from my infancy and before I was part of her story. There were times I felt lost in her world and times when we were both felt ‘lost down memory lane’.

It was those hidden closets and those Bogeymen in the cellar, that I knew I would have to have the courage to meet in my own life. I had spent a lifetime barricading the doors and papering over the cracks, pretending that I was sorted and healed, but it was not true at an emotional level and I could see that it was futile at best. I was not living the promised ‘life to the full’ because I was still afraid of the Bogeymen!

Burying my head in the sand, anaesthetising the pain, ‘not knowing’ and ‘forgetting’ were all coping mechanisms to avoid facing the fear of being afraid. I was ready to be sober and to look my Bogeymen, secrets and myself – square in the face. Well, I thought it was time I tried! I would make sure I did things differently and let go of the fears that were strangling my life and my voice. And so it began with a plan on New Year’s Eve, 2015…

The next few years were an exploration of Suzie’s stories as she told them to me and I wrote them down. A journey of getting to know and learning to love her by going down her secret Memory Lane.

This beautiful and courageous adventure into young Suzie’s life is the subject of my current writing project and the book coming soon…

In honour of this, I wrote a poem:

Free to be me, at fifty

At fifty, she’d had to confess,

that her life was really a mess;

She needed a chance to learn a new dance

and to heal, to grow and to bless.

But a word from the wise, whispered, “Open your eyes,

for the door of your cage,

(Prophesied the old sage)

Is unlocked!”

Unlocked?

She’d been trapped in the cage, this is true,

But at least it was space that she knew.

Could she survive, even thrive, in the open,

if she finally let go and flew?

Her heart was abused and her wings still unused –

What if she fell, couldn’t fly?

To make such a change felt fearfully strange,

Was she even too old now to try?

Unlocked?

She pushed open the door and stepped out,

surrendered her will and her doubt.

She screamed and roared as she tumbled and soared,

but her Saviour never let go!

For He who transforms and renews the mind

taught her to trust, forgive and be kind.

He gave her a choice, gave her a voice

and courage to leave the old cage behind.

So she flew, she flapped, she served and dared –

whether feeling strong, brave or scared;

She was free to fly, free to be;

finally free

– to be me

– at fifty.

I was to make it the best year of my life! And I did.

Remembrance Blog 5 – Importance of Memory.

The thought struck me – if I have no memory, how can I learn any skill or knowledge?

As I come to the last part of my thoughts of Remembrance, I realise how the words ‘memory’ and ‘remembrance’ have such a broad scope of meaning!

We have ‘remembered’ historical events and persons, known to us by the written and spoken stories of collective, cultural history.

We have ‘remembered’ likewise the miracles and stories of God’s salvation history, from the written words of Bible and through ongoing synagogue or church traditions.

We have remembered our own family heritage, perhaps enhanced by family anecdotes, photographs and paintings.

Much of this ‘remembrance’ is a bringing to mind of stories about, rather than of personal experience with, a person, time and place. We tell those stories, teach the lessons and pass on the collective wisdom learned through the people and events of the past. Society wants us to remember and learn lessons of history and God wants us to remember, learn and be encouraged by His faithfulness and love. This is why Jesus spoke in parables and stories that we can understand, remember and pass on to others.

But there is a different sort of remembering, which is also crucial in our personal identity. These memories are formed by the impact and impression of experiences we witness, hear, see, smell, touch and in some ways ‘feel’ fully for ourselves. These are our own personal memories. It is not a ‘knowing about’, but is a ‘knowing’. We were there and saw it and felt it. We heard him. We tasted it. We smelled it… and it sticks in the mind. The impact of this depends on the persistence over time of the information we store and on the impact of it on us. When I hammer into stone with a sharp implement, I will impact the stone and leave a mark… likewise, years and years of footfall, or weather, will also cause a mark and impact on that stone.

It is very significant how early our formational personal experiences occurred. The first experiences we have lay the foundation and shape of the person we believe ourself to be and often do then become. These early experiences are fundamental to our identity.

Our identity is entwined with all these experiences we have had and through our experiences of our interactions with others in our world – our parents, family, church, school, society, culture… We learn who we are, who we are expected to be and the significance of our place in it all.

Lessons from Dementia

I’ve been thinking a lot over the years about the importance of personal memory and the absence thereof.

It became an intensive personal study when I became a full-time carer for my young mother, who had early-onset Alzheimer’s. She was diagnosed with it in her early 50s, younger than I am today.

When Mammy’s Alzheimer’s became debilitating, one of the deep lessons I learned was of the nature of memory to define who we are. When Mammy began to forget, her sense of self, her foundations even, began to slip… she forgot what her family looked like now, and in time she no longer recognised their faces, voices and names. She no longer recognised herself, or where she lived, where she was at any moment, who she was with, what she was doing, or supposed to be doing…

Her memory failed and she forgot who she was in relation to everything else. She became lost and very afraid!

We knew her and we continued to affirm her, hug and hold her, remind her of who she was and all the moments and memories that made her who she was. Sometimes this was enough to give her quality of momentary peace, warmth and love, but it all was without connections. The oldest, deepest memories of experiences that were significant and powerful, these remained as monsters in a fragile void. The string of fairy lights no longer connected and illuminated the place that was Mammy and for many lonely hours, she lived a state of terror, haunted by old trauma, (unresolved stuff that had left big impact in her life), and frightened by her state of lost unknowing.

She entered a void of dissociation, disconnected and mute as all meaningful words also retreated whence they had come. As she slipped into oblivion, the torment and terror seemed to stop and she seemed to experience a peace?

My first published work, ‘Lost Down Memory Lane – Caring for Alzheimers – A Personal Journey’, by Dawn Fanshawe, explores the reactions and responses of my mother, me and others, to Mammy’s loss of her identity in dementia. I wrote it in honour of her struggle and for myself to remember. I also wrote it to offer encouragement and empathy with others, who also embark on that un-chosen journey to care for a loved one whose lights begin to go out.

This is available as an e-book or from WestBow press (for those in the USA) or on Ebay direct from me for those in the UK. Use links in the ‘BOOKS’ page or message me directly.

Books

Fork in the road – by Michael Tolleson –
I chose this image for my book because memories inform our understanding of where we are and where we are going.

As I witnessed the unresolved parts of Mammy re-traumatise her in her state of dementia, I knew I had to find a way to exorcise, if you will, those painful parts of my own early experiences that I had long ago buried out of harm’s way. I did not want them to come back to haunt me, if I should ever get dementia!!

Since publishing this book in 2015, I began my own journey to get to know my own wounded-inner-child. I called her Suzie.

The second book, that I am hoping to publish soon, explores this personal therapeutic journey and the strategies and processes I have used to effectively re-connect with my wounded inner-child and to re-member the fragmented parts of me that had been disconnected and buried inside. It is an exciting journey of growth, honesty and an unexpected joy.

Remembering Jesus in Advent.

Remembrance Blog 4 New Testament

In the last post, we looked at God’s word which was written on tablets of stone and memorised in festivals, but the prophets foretold a closer intimacy that God desired with His people. Celebrating the first week of Advent, this weekend, is a perfect time to reflect on the fulfilment of the promise, even though, despite the prophesies, it did not come about in the way the people hoped or expected. This part of God’s plan was revealed through the coming of God’s Son – Emmanuel and with Him, the revelation of the Kingdom of God. God wanted us to not just know about Him, but to know Him personally. We ‘remember’ (remind and encourage ourselves with the truth) that God came down to earth and we ‘remember’ that He WILL come again for the complete fulfilment of His Kingdom.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us

Jeremiah 31:33-34

“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbour and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Though God does not remember our sins, and though we have His law in our hearts, we are still commanded to remember God in the Eucharist and to remember His words and everything that Jesus taught and did – because we are forgetful and easily distracted.

Remembering Who He is and His love

1 Corinthians 11:24-25

‘…and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.’

Revelation 3:3

‘So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.’

In our new birth into this New Covenant through the blood of Jesus, God helps us to remember, by giving us the Holy Spirit to be our helper, our guide and our ‘reminder’. –

John 14:26

‘But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.’

John 2:22

‘So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.’

Acts 11:15-18

‘And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

Just as in the days of old, we are still encouraged to teach, to remember and pass on the words and deeds of God and His love for us. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that whoever believes in Him will have everlasting life.

We are to remember, teach, inspire, honour, instruct and pass-on what we have learned from our Lord. The apostles do this in their written encouragements to the early church and we are exhorted to continue to strengthen one another with the truths and hope that we have through Jesus.

1 Corinthians 11:12

‘Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.’

2 Peter 3:1-10

‘This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour spoken by your apostles.’

Isn’t it wonderful how Jesus assured us of how God still remembers His Covenant with us – even the New Covenant in His blood. God honours and remembers our faithfulness, our sacrifices, our love and our good deeds. When we pray, He hears our cries and remembers us and remembers the blood of Jesus, shed for the abundant, eternal life of each of us. Even in His moment of greatest distress, in agony on the cross, the thief asks Jesus to ‘remember’ him and Jesus assures him that He will remember him and has heard his plea for mercy – “today you will be with me in paradise.”

Matt 26:10 -13

‘Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me… When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Acts 10:4

‘Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.

Is it not truly wonderful that God loves us so much, that He wants an intimate relationship with each one of us, so He gives us the Holy Spirit to guide us every moment into all the truth and to remind us of all that we need to know. I’m so glad He reminds me constantly of my complete dependence on Him.

And yet, all the ‘good’ deeds that we do are always ‘remembered’ by God, whereas our sins – these He remembers no more!

Hebrews 8:10-12

“For I will be merciful to their iniquities,

And I will remember their sins no more.”

What an amazing love and such amazing grace!

Remembering His Promises

Remembrance Blog 3

In the previous 2 blogs, I explored how November is a month where traditionally in the church and in the wider society, we remember people from the past – those whose lives inspire us to be greater people and those whose lives warn us of consequences of rebellion or folly. We also traditionally remember our forbears who have gone before us and left their own legacy.

Throughout the history of the relationship between God and His people, God regularly ‘commands’ us to remember (call to mind) Him and His Covenant promises with His people.

Here are some examples from the Old Testament, where God exhorts US to remember His faithfulness to His Covenant –

Ex 23:14-17

“Three times a year you are to hold a festival for me. Hold the spring Festival of Unraised Bread… That was the month you came out of Egypt… Hold the summer Festival of Harvest when you bring in the first-fruits of all your work in the fields. Hold the autumn Festival of Ingathering at the end of the season when you bring in the year’s crops. Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Master, God.”

Deuteronomy 5:15

“You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.”

Deuteronomy 8:18

“But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

Psalm 77: 11-12

“I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will reflect on all You have done and ponder Your mighty deeds.”

Why does God command us to remember His ‘mighty deeds’? I think it is because we are so prone to forgetting and to focussing instead on our own immediate, day-to-day issues. Our tendency is to be overwhelmed by our present concerns and to take a microscopic focus on our circumstances or our own limited human capacity. Remembering that God is with us and for us inspires faith, hope and a greater capacity to love and to follow Him.

Remembering God’s mighty deeds of the past puts God in the focus of our mind and gives us a telescopic view of His care and faithfulness and reminds us of the bigger picture. Remembering that God hears our cries, answers our prayers and comes to the aid of His people, this builds our faith and our hope in Him who, if He has been faithful and mighty, He can be faithful and mighty again. Remembering His interventions in our stories also causes us to pause and to give Him the thanks He deserves and the peace to rest in His provision. This is why I do my monthly public thanksgiving for specific prayers answered. It reminds me to have faith in His faithfulness.

God remembers His promises

But sometimes it is God Himself who ‘remembers’ His Covenant, when His people call upon Him to act and to save –

Genesis 9:14-16

“It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

Exodus 2:23-25

Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.

Psalm 105:8

He has remembered His covenant forever,

The word which He commanded to a thousand generations.

God’s word is there to remind us of His constant faithfulness to His Covenant with His people.

God desired a greater intimacy with us. He planned to restore the intimacy lost in the Garden of Eden. He spoke of His plan and fulfilled His plan in Jesus, when He extended His Covenant with all of humanity. We will look at that in the next post.

Let it inspire your faith – God will never forget you! He loves you with an everlasting love. His word always accomplishes what it says. Remind Him of His promises to you and build your trust on His faithfulness.

Remembrance Day

In my last post (forgive the pun!!) we looked at November as a month for traditionally remembering the dead – the famous, the infamous and our families, our heritage – those who have gone before us and inspired us with lives we see as good examples and those who warn us by the consequences of choices that we might also want to learn from.

Today I want to share my thoughts and research into Remembrance Day, because, although I have learned this all before, I forget the details. In reminding myself, I can pass on to you the traditions behind this annual event.

a poppy field

Remembrance Day

Formerly Armistice Day, this was first celebrated at Buckingham Palace in 1918.

Why 11^th November?

It was a military memorial day observed in Commonwealth member-states since the end of WW1 to honour all those who died in the line of duty. The hostilities ended at the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month of November, with the signing of the armistice. (Though the war ended officially with the Treaty of Versailles which was signed on 28^th June 1919)

After WW2, the name of the day was changed to Remembrance Day in UK and Veterans Day in the US and is used to honour and remember all who gave their lives in WW1 and in ALL subsequent wars and conflicts.

The traditional ceremony involves the laying of a wreath to honour and remember

After the clock strikes 11 O’clock, ‘The Last Post’ is played, followed by 2 minutes silence, after which ‘The Rouse’ or Reveille is played.

The Act of Remembrance consists of the following:

The Exhortation is recited:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

The Last Post is sounded.
(A Piper Lament may be included in Scotland.)

The Two Minute Silence is observed.

Reveille is sounded.

The Kohima Epitaph is recited (optional):

When you go home, tell them of us and say,
For your tomorrow, we gave our today.

Though Remembrance is no longer a religious ceremony, it is inclusive, but prayers and blessings are sometimes said and traditionally ‘Jerusalem’ is played.

Why red poppies? Why Poppy Day?

Poppies grow well on the disturbed earth of barren battlefields, where little else grows. The British legion introduced the red poppy to represent the sacrifice made by comrades and as a lasting memorial.

In France the symbol is the cornflower.

Whilst the British (and other Commonwealth nations) remembered the sacrifices made by thousands of (mainly) men during the first world war, people also had the sense of ‘never again’ and wanting to learn from the tragic waste of lives in war. In the 1930s a women’s guild began wearing white poppies in a statement to support and promote peace, rather than war, but many chose to see this as dishonouring those who died in war and the movement was squashed.

Today we remember ALL who have given their lives in conflicts all around the world.

Why?

Lest we forget!

Death, be not proud

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery.

Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,

And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well

And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

By John Donne (early 1600s)

poppies and cornflowers

This year, on a personal note, as every year on 11^th November, I remember my own baptism in 1984 and I also remember my very special friend, Little John, whose anniversary it is too. He always joked about my poor memory and I smile to think he died on a day he knew I could never forget. I don’t forget him.

Other countries that were not ‘allies’ at the time of the first and second ‘world war’s, will have different sentiments surrounding 11th November and may have their own equivalent day or time of remembrance. I’d love to hear about that too.

I will remember all of this on Thursday and also stop, for the 2 minutes, in respect for the dead. Is this part of your traditions at all?

REMEMBER, REMEMBER…

Remembrance Blog 1

REMEMBER, REMEMBER…

My head is full to bursting with a trail of thoughts about ‘Remembrance’, so I am going to do a small series of blogs to explore one-by-one some of the themes connecting up in my brain, like a string of fairy lights.

As today is the fifth November, it seems fitting to begin with the old rhyme, drummed into us as children, calling us to remember…

Remember, remember, the 5th of November,

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason

Why gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot…

As I’m sure you know, in Britain, folk build bonfires (to get rid of pruned trees and tidy up the twigs and dead leaves) and they have fireworks and outdoor celebrations with a mixture of autumn traditions of toffee apples, baked potatoes, mushy-peas, warm cider, and other festive goodies and fun. When I was a child, children would make a ‘Guy’ out of stuffed rags and wheel it around shouting ‘penny for the guy’ in order to get pennies to buy sparklers, jumping jacks or toffees. The ‘Guy’ would later be thrown on the bonfire and burned. (If it wasn’t too soggy!) This tradition has dwindled under the scrutiny of political correctness and health&safety and so doesn’t happen as much, to my knowledge.

First a little bit of history:

The plot was centred around a group of Roman Catholic revolutionaries furious at the persecution of their faith in England. The revolutionaries had hoped for better treatment from the new monarch James I after 45 years of hounding under the reign of Elizabeth I, and decided on drastic measures when things did not improve under his reign.

Warwickshire-born Catholic Robert Catesby and his friends planned to kill the King, his ministers and scores of nobles by blowing up the Palace of Westminster during the State Opening of Parliament on November 5, 1605.

The plotters rented a house nearby and managed to smuggle 36 barrels of gunpowder – around 2.5 tons – into a cellar under the palace ready to blow it sky high.

The explosives were discovered with hours to spare after an anonymous tip-off warning one peer to stay away.

To this day the cellars under the Houses of Parliament are ceremonially searched before the annual State Opening.

Perhaps it’s clear why we were urged to remember – to learn the ‘moral’ from the story (that rebellion against King and country has severe consequences and all that). But one can also see historically how courageous and desperate these ‘revolutionaries’ were to uphold their own religious freedom. There are two sides (at least) to every story and the terms ‘revolutionaries’, ‘rebels’, ‘reformers’, ‘pioneers’, etc – they always hold an historical significance and point to the beliefs and moral position of the ruling elite at any given time.

The month of November

November itself is a whole month dedicated to remembering – especially in church tradition – but also in general culture.

I’m going to share some of the historical significance behind some of the remaining familiar practices in our culture today.

In November the church traditionally remembers the ‘faithful departed’ and the Catholic Church priests says Masses for the dead in their parish all the month, following:

All Saints’ Day: November 1^st (since 8^th Century)

In the Catholic Church (and other churches) it is a Holy Day of Obligation to remember the saints and martyrs (known and unknown) on All Saints’ Day (All Hallows) – “all who have already reached the blessed land and point us on that path to reach the same destination” Pope John Paul II (2003). We remember these to inspire our own lives by their good example.

All Souls’ Day: November 2^nd

Likewise, on All Souls’ Day, all the ‘faithfully departed’ are commemorated and prayers for the dead, especially family and friends, are said. Often folk visit the graves of relatives, place flowers and reflect on their connections and lives.

Hallow e’en on 31^st Oct

Halloween was originally the vigil and evening of fasting and prayer before the feast day of All Saints/ All Hallows.

Traditionally folk would bake ‘soul-cakes’ (they had a cross on them, like hot-cross buns, as a sign of alms-giving) in preparation for the holy Day, and groups of poor people, often the children, would go door-to-door collecting ‘soul-cakes’ in exchange for offers to pray for the souls of the cake-giver’s family and friends. ‘Souling’ Christians would carry lanterns made of hollowed out turnips to represent the souls of the dead and jack-o’-lanterns to ward off evil spirits. Candles were also lit over these days to ‘guide the lost souls’ back to the light of Christ. Some dressed as known saints or in costumes to avoid recognition by evil spirits and homes and farmsteads were blessed.

It was a time of celebrating the end of the harvest and the start of winter, which is seen as the season of death.

Some of these old traditions carried remnants of older pagan traditions and a theology of purgatory and so were banned in the reformation.

The tradition of remembering the dead is to also learn the lessons – examples to follow and examples to learn from and avoid in our own lives. The Christian faith is one of hope in eternity and in heaven, because of Christ who conquered death. So remembering the dead is done with gratitude and hope.

Matthew 22:31 – 32

‘But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.’

Romans 14: 8

‘If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living’.

***

What of you?

Are any of these days of any historical or cultural or spiritual significance to you?

Do you like to learn about relatives who have gone before you and learn about your personal or local heritage?

Please share any of your favourite practices relating to the remembrance of Saints, martyrs and our forebears, known and unknown, personally or historically significant.

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In the next post I will be considering Remembrance Day (in the UK) (Veterans Day in the US).