Should you clap for speakers at Memorial Day events?
A reader says their mother taught that one should not applaud at Memorial Day observances and that attendees should depart in silence, but at a recent event people applauded and chatted afterward.
DEAR MISS MANNERS: My dear mother told me that one should never clap for the speakers at Memorial Day observances, and that one should depart in silence to mark the solemnity of the occasion. At a Memorial Day event, I noticed that everyone clapped for the speakers and chatted casually at the end of the event.