It seems a simple enough thing, this day on the
calendar. But I’m old enough, and you
probably are, too, to remember when Dr. King’s birthday was not a holiday. Although the Stevie Wonder “Happy Birthday”
is the standard now for regular folks’ birthdays, I pointed out to my kids
recently that this cooler, dance-ier version to cut cake by was part of the
campaign to make Dr. King’s birthday a holiday, way back in the 80’s (this
holiday was only first officially celebrated in 1986.)
For my kids’ entire life, the third Monday has not only been
a federal holiday for Dr. King’s birthday, it’s also been a Day of Service, where
we are encouraged to be of service to our community in line with Dr. King’s
dream.
That’s kinda cool, don’t you think, that to them, the King
holiday has always been about service to others. Each year, we go to a large-scale community
event where dozens of organizations have set up project work-stations and
information displays. Over the years,
we’ve worked on cards for soldiers, packing lunches for the shelter, making
bracelets and small play items for children in the hospital, blankets for the
shelter, among many other projects.
