Pioneer Day

Over two decades now I've lived in Utah, and from those twenty-or-so years (that I can remember) has matured an appreciation of July 24th, Pioneer Day. Recently, a lot of people (in most cases, newcomers to Utah) have been talking about Pioneer Day as though it were some backward tradition started by Utahns to give themselves an extra day off work. Observing how most Utahns go about celebrating Pioneer Day, with rodeos, corn on the cob, fireworks, parades, carnivals, and cotton candy, I can see how their viewpoints are justified. There's so much more to it than that, though. My mind has journeyed back this year, more so than in years past, to the events that lead to the formation of Pioneer Day. The early Latter-day Saints left everything behind them. Like the founding fathers a century earlier, the Mormon pioneers were fleeing religious persecution and injustice. They forged a life in the middle of the wilderness, losing wife, mother, brother, father, sister, husband, or child along the way. No wonder they celebrated when it was over. Peace found. Zion established.

June 12 is the Philippines Independence Day. Holy Week is observed throughout much of the Catholic world by taking a week off work and dedicating the week to religious observance. Just because neither of these holidays is celebrated in their fullest here in the U.S. does that make them less worthy of observance? Like any other holiday or tradition of great cultural, political, historical, or religious significance, Pioneer Day deserves due respect from those who recognize the origins of the holiday as something significant to the true observer.