Regardless of how I write the date, the feeling still stands
that I should not be working today!
This is a day filled with historic meaning in Portugal.
Quoting Wikipedia:
“The Carnation Revolution, also referred to as
the 25 April, was initially a military coup in Lisbon, Portugal,
on 25 April 1974 which overthrew the regime of the Estado Novo. The revolution started
as a military coup organized by the Armed Forces Movement composed of
military officers who opposed the regime, but the movement was soon coupled
with an unanticipated and popular campaign of civil
resistance. This movement would lead to the fall of the Estado Novo
and the withdrawal of Portugal from its African
colonies and East Timor.
The name "Carnation Revolution" comes from the
fact that almost no shots were fired and when the population took to the
streets to celebrate the end of the dictatorship and war in the colonies, carnations were put into the muzzles
of rifles and on the uniforms of the army men. In Portugal, the 25th of April
is a national holiday, known as Freedom Day, to celebrate the
event.”
[I could of wrote an explanation myself, but I just felt it
would be easier to copy someone else’s work – COPY PASTE RULES!]
This was always a day of staying home with the family.
Having my dad tell us how he had been woken early in the morning to go and
guard the evacuation of the prison in
Peniche. My mother telling how she was running back and forth, almost 8 months
pregnant with my brother, to report the news she was listening on the radio.
Each member of the family that had some sort of memory of that day would share
it. And despite us having heard the same reports year after year, we still
asked for them and brought the topic up. And today, while sitting grudgingly at
work, I miss that. I am missing out on that experience once again.
Instead I am sitting at work, trying to find electricians in
KS. Every little girl’s dream…
