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| Our backyard |
Peonies always remind me of Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as our Grandmother Benefiel called it. We were sometimes out of school before May 30 -- this holiday was always on the 30th before "Monday holidays" existed -- and we would be at her house. Grammie and our great-Aunt Mary cut peonies from their bushes to take to their relatives' graves. They took jars (mayonnaise or pickle jars or the like), and they dug little holes in the ground in front of the gravestones and put the jars in the holes. They'd place the cut peonies and some water in the jars.
Their brother, Roy Matthews, died in France in 1918. They decorated the grave of my great-uncle, Cecil Benefiel, who enlisted in the Army during WWII when in his 40's. They also decorated the graves of their parents and another brother.
During the Victorian era, human qualities were applied to flowers, and peonies were associated with bashfulness and compassion. Additionally, peonies are said to symbolize a happy life and a happy marriage. (Source: The Old Farmer's Almanac.)
