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Experiential travel stories from India and 31 other countries!

A Red-Letter day

 

What is a Red-Letter day day?

 

I, a student of Standard V. One of the warm days of winter. (As I don’t remember cribbing in the morning as I do years later). I was all excited to reach school for the flag hoisting. Not to mention we had practiced hard for the drill and the parade. Also I was in the Blue House-the torchbearer being from our house. Since morning, I was going through a piece of paper again and again. My Mother asked me, why was I so nervous if I had memorized it all.  I orated it all over again with a few add on from her, here and there. I knew I could deliver it well but still I would continue revising it till the last moment. My Dad bought me a customary accessory (tricolor) without which as students we felt incomplete. Silently, I stepped in the school bus. I felt happy within after all I had to deliver my first speech in school. Oh yes,  I was the chosen one on the special occasion-The Republic day.

 

The flag was unfurled. The National anthem was played. My name was announced. My teacher gave me a ‘Go ahead “glance. My speech began and I went on and on till the last line. I didn’t stammer, nor did I eat any of the lines. Everyone clapped. And I was elated. It seemed as if I had become famous in a matter of few minutes. After the day’s activities and celebrations, one of my friends asked me, hey in one of lines in the speech, you said 26th January is a red letter day in the history of India.

 

What is Red Letter Day? Gosh! How did I forget to ask my dad about this phrase? He had helped me with the content of the oration and made sure that I knew the significance of this day detailing the nuances about the constitution being put into effect on this day and India being declared a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. The date 26 January was chosen to commemorate the declaration of independence declared way back in 1930. I explained whatever I knew. But red letter day still remained as a letter painted in red.

 

I had a task for the day. When I returned home, the first thing that I asked Dad was about Red Letter Day. I made sure I explained the meaning to the whole class next day. It was also very important to add on how and why 26th Jan is a red letter day in our history. And never did it fade away. A red letter day meant a church festival or saint’s day, which was originated from the practice of marking the dates of church festivals on calendars in red. In today’s times it signifies the most special days.

I hope this post helped you to know about one of the special days of our country in a special manner.

 

17 thoughts on “A Red-Letter day

  1. first of all i would like to congratulate you for your first oration.In today’s time 15th August and 26th Jan are not more than a holiday or you may say red letter days.People take them as holidays and nobody wants to celebrate them with full enthusiasm.The task of celebrating these days is now confined only to the schools and govt. offices.

  2. Nice info…

    In school time, 26th Jan for me meant the MARCH PASTS and standing proudly for OUR national anthem but today yesss a holiday..sigh i feel ashamed 🙁

  3. atleast for these two red letter days, we all feel proud to be an INDIAN…
    this year that remix of “mile sur song” was a new thing.
    i like the older one, new one was ok-ok types

  4. a proud experience to be on stage fr the frst time…evn i remebered one while readng it….n thanx fr sharing the info about “red letter day”..evn we ppl hoisted the tricolor in our college…..feels gud!!!!!!

  5. Truly,

    This Red letter day has become a holiday for many, we find solace in the fact that we have got some extra time to breath happily and enjoy in the mid of the week. I am not sure of the reasons behind the same… Is it that jam-packed week leaves us exhausted enough to remember it as just another ‘weekend-day’ or is it that we do not find reasons worthy enough to celebrate this historic day. On this, my friend rightly said that hundreds of smses would have poured into our handsets had it been Valentine’s day but hardly do we find any patriotic smses doing the round… Facts are true even if they are hard to digest.. 🙁

  6. republic day celebration has become a thing of the past and it is just a holiday at least this is how i treat it now…

  7. i m really impressed by your writing skill.
    u have converting an ordinary event into really interesting story……

  8. Gr8…ur very first speech went so smoothly…a rare feat 🙂
    Thanks for enlightening on the ‘Red Letter Day’.

  9. people have really started taking this day as a holiday, hope that this day shudn’t b 4gotten as shastriji’s b’day……

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