“Happy Memorial Day” bugs me, too.
“Raceline,” the show that airs before every NASCAR race on FOX, had an announcer on Sunday who said, “Happy Memorial Day.” So did the guy on the pre-race show, and it was said by the announcer at the end of the race in Charlotte as well.
I’ve heard callers on Talk Radio and I’ve seen little kids on the local news saying “Happy Memorial Day.”
The people who say it mean well, but those words are inappropriate. Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as my late father called it, is a day of solemn remembrance for the nation’s war dead. I’m sure the mothers and fathers of military personnel who lost their sons or daughters in war, or the widows of serviceman killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, etc. felt a number of emotions on Memorial Day. I’m pretty sure that happiness was not among those emotions.
Perhaps the best response to a “Happy Memorial Day,” is just to respond, “It is good to remember our fallen soldiers,” or something like that. “I am grateful for the sacrifices of our military.”