Patriot's Day

One of the perks of living in Massachusetts is getting an extra holiday every April-- Patriot's Day. (Of course, that perk is negated by one of the downsides of living in Massachusetts--consistently lousy spring weather.) Patriot's Day commemorates the first battles of the Revolutionary War at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. It's a civic holiday in Massachusetts and Maine (which was once part of Massachusetts), and there are some great traditions associated with it such as the running of the Boston Marathon and an early Red Sox game day (scheduled for 10 a.m. this year).

One of my favorite traditions is seeing the reenactment of Revolutionary War battles. The dawn reenactment of battles at Lexington and Concord have always been a bit early for me. (This is a holiday after all!) So the afternoon commemorations are more up my alley. This year, the Minute Man National Historical Park staged a Saturday reenactment of the British retreat back to Boston along a half mile of the Battle Road with hundreds of British and colonial reenactors. These battles really give you a feel as to how different warfare was a couple of centuries ago. One fashion tip if you go next year: Keep the red coat at home. You might as well wear a Yankee hat at Fenway Park.