Collective Memory and Abortive Commemoration: Presidents' Day and the American Holiday Calendar

The article discusses collective memory in relation to the U.S. holiday calendar. The article describes how special commemoration days serve as a means to establish national identity through the social distribution of ideals, virtues, and moral judgments. The article explores how holidays can be used as a way to maintain power and control, while also serving as a means to affirm shared values between elites and the masses. The social role of rituals and ceremonies is discussed in reference to the work of social scientists Emile Durkheim, Robert Bellah, and Maurice Halbwachs.