Independence Day Celebration in New Haven and Yale

         
 

The "soldiers" in old uniforms

   This morning 8 of us teachers from the Central South University went to the Center Cemetery in New Haven to just see the July 4th celebrations.
    We were late when we arrived at the cemetery. The ceremony of paying tribute to the dead, who either gave up their lives in the American War of Independence or who  contributed a great deal to the foundation of the USA, had begun.
    We saw a group of four men standing in front of a building facing the entrance gate of the cemetery. An elderly man was delivering a speech. On the right side of the gate, there was a man sitting on the back of a beautiful shiny horse, wearing the Independece soldiers' hats, which made him quite eye=catching.
    On his right side, a group of peopel standing apart facing each other, were each holding a flag.
    I took some pictures of them and of the people attending the ceremony.
    But soon, as we entered the gate and stood behind a group of people, I heard a loud "peng" shot. It gave me quite a start. I saw smoke rising into the air from where the shooting took place.
    It reminded of of the rural Chinese practice when a person died. On the way to the burial ground, several such shootings would be done to announce to the world of the death. The person in charge of this work must have strong ears.
 
 On the second day we had class, our two teachers showed us around the campus. And as we passed the cemetery, Siggy pointed to it and said, this is the central ccemetery of New Haven.
    I was puzzled by the words engraved on the frame of the gate, "The dead shall be raised." I asked Siggy why people should have put such a sentence there. In our Chinese rural culture, the dead should be kept in the ground. This is an ideal place for their body to rest. She said she did not understand why.

    A few minutes later, a second loud "peng" was heard. This time it did not give me any start. But I saw the white old lady in her blue and white shirt standing in front of me shook with fear.
    I was sure the dead were indeed raised by the loud "Peng".
    After the third "peng", the flag bearers led the way forward, followed by the people in dark blue suits.
    Then they stopped in the aile between two rows of graves clusters.
    The people in suits stood in front of a tall monument, and read the names of the original 13 states one by one, and the flag bearers came from behind the last row of the graves one by one, and I finally got to know the flags they carried represented the 13 states that made up the oroginal United States.
 

The man in red told us the reason why the monuments take different shapes and have different heights

The man in red trousers was to gave a speech about Sherman. 

The young girl and the old woamn were asked to place the national flag in front of the Sherman tomb  

The girl got back her flag and was glad we took pictures of her.

    Then a man perhaps in his late 20s or in his 30s came to take the central place and began to introduce himself and explain the reason why he came to deliver the speech in front of Roger Sherman's tomb.
    The man's introduction about Sherman's social position and his role in the American War of Independence as well we before, during and after the war made me quite sure that he must have done a lot of research about Sherman before the delivery. Sherman's personal life, especially about his having 15 children by two wives, made all the people present laugh. Sherman had 15 children by his two wives.
    After the speech, two girls and one woman were arranged to present separately the national small national flags in front of the tomb of Sherman. Then all the people left the grave and moved along the so called avenues in the cemetery till they reached the gate again.
    We did not follow, but asked an elderly man in a red shirt about the different shapes of the monument, some are very very small, others thin and tall with a sharp point, some square-shaped.
    The man explained patiently that different shapes of the monument represent different stages, the earliest may be in the 1600. The earliest settlers came to New Haven in 1620, and Yale was founded in 1635.
    He pointed to the brown ones and said they must be about 200 years old.
    Our curiosity was aroused and went closer to the monuments just to prove his word.
    Then one of my colleagues asked about the reason why there were very short and small monuments. He replied that they were for very small children.
    We were puzzled that some cluster of graves were fenced. The man again gave his explanation: They belonged to one family.
    "Were all the dead in New Haven buried here?"
    "No, the cemetery belongs to the rich families of New Haven."

    Yale Outdoor Education Center
    Honn. Spice--homes for the dying and their family members.
    Observing the Independence Day celebration enriched my knowledge about American hitory and made me know about Roger Sherman' life story and about his connection with Yale University and Connecticut. 
    The man who delivered the speech is also a Yale graduate. He feels greatly honored to introduce Sherman to the participants.
 

    Beautiful lakes and houses along fresh green Food for all of the students