Maine Seasons: Patriot's Day

I set out to write this post early afternoon of Patriot's Day, April 15, 2019, when I heard that Notre Dame Cathedral was burning. The enthusiasm was knocked out of me. Such an ancient beautiful building, a church, crumbling under fire reminded me of U.S. tragedies that have gripped people's attention across the globe. One such was on Patriot's Day in 2013. A year earlier I had spent the weekend of Patriot's Day in Boston with my family attending a Red Sox game, seeing historic Revolutionary war sites, climbing the Bunker Hill monument, touring the U.S.S. Constitution, seeing Paul Revere's

Paul Revere is buried at Boston's
Granary Burial Ground, third oldest
 graveyard in Beantown.

and Ben Franklin's parents' graves, and visiting the Old North Church and Revere's home on the north side of Boston. It was a wonderful weekend as far as being a tourist goes. We also experienced the bottle neck of the streets because of the Boston Marathon, and I remember watching a while, clinging to my son's tee shirt so I wouldn't lose him among the throngs, and thinking about how very easy it would be for a criminal to do something awful at such an event. The next year it happened.

Last year, I visited Notre Dame Cathedral on the same Monday, or Maine's Patriot's Day, while on vacation to Paris during our April school break. (I'm not in any way suggesting my visits have anything to do with these tragedies, but I guess I can say I'm thankful that we were there when we were.)

There is nothing like the video footage of tragedies as they are unfolding to captivate our attention as we sit in unbelief and awe. This is also something many remember from 9/11 and other events further back. It kinda sucks the breath from your insides.

However, a funny story started my day on this Patriot's Day. My sister, who lives in western New York, shared on social media that on a radio station she listens to, it was said that Massachusetts had a holiday in memory of the Marathon bombing, truly a tragic and scary time for Boston and surrounding towns. And something that is recognized at the Marathon since.

The day the city shut down for its massive manhunt, we had tickets to Red Sox, and got as far as Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, before we turned around. I was listening to live feed about the epic man hunt for the younger brother who was found in a boat in a person's driveway! It was riveting, and as much as I wanted to stop listening, I couldn't. I still have those Red Sox tickets. The game was rescheduled for two days later, and we attended, but as far as the date on the ticket, that game wasn't played.

As much as the lives lost that day and afterward should be remembered, Patriot's Day has more historic origins altogether, and as much as a tragedy as any, but one many citizens felt was necessary--to stand down a bully government. It began as a day of fasting and prayer in Massachusetts, but since April 19, 1894, it has been known as Patriot's Day. Because Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1820, Maine has also celebrated since 1907. Patriot's Day now is always the third Monday of April, and it begins the April school vacation week for many public schools in New England. The date of April 19, 1775, was the Battle of Lexington and Concord when minutemen (local militias made up of farmers and local citizens, therefore the Patriots logo is a Minuteman!) met the British Army near Lexington, Massachusetts, just north of Boston approximately 15 miles as the crow flies, as the British regulars were coming to raid their munitions and rifles. The fighting continued in Concord and then as the regulars retreated back to Boston, other skirmishes broke out along the way. There is so much history in Boston, and I won't get into more, but if you ever wondered why Massachusetts and Maine has this one weird holiday, its not really weird at all, its really where the Revolutionary War got its start. If you've never been to Boston to visit all the historic sites, it is very cool and fun. Our favorites have been

Paul Revere, engraver, Patriot, and
 silversmith, moved into this two-
story house in 1770 with 5
children,  his wife, and mother
in law. This is smallish house,
by modern standards,
in the North End.

Bunker Hill
Home of Paul Revere
Old North Church
Old State House (near site of Boston Massacre)

The Minuteman Park in Concord is a place I have yet to visit, but would like to. There are many reenactments on Patriot's Day and during the weekend. Also of course the Boston Marathon is run. Celtics or Bruins may be playing, and the Red Sox usually have a morning start home game as well.

Other historic sites worth seeing are the U.S.S. Constitution, a historic commissioned Navy ship and base. Boston is full of cultural institutions such as the science museum, Quincy Market, Faneuil Hall, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the New England Aquarium. There is the Freedom Trail and Black Heritage Trail.

Boston is hard to drive around in. Subways can be crowded on days such as Patriot's Day and game days, etc., but it is a walking city as well. There are other smaller historical societies, organizations, and museums, as well as galleries, shopping, and lots of restaurants. There is so much to do in Boston.

So, for those that may have wondered what this special holiday is all about, this is to get you on the right track!

 
New Englanders, what is your favorite historical place to visit in Boston?

Longfellow's poem has made Revere the man of the hour
at the start of the revolution in Boston; however, many others
have just as much or more reason for claim to fame as Revere.
He was a go-getter in business and in life!

Click here for the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
(a Massachusetts/Mainer fyi) poem

 "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere".