History Dates Terminology

When writing historical fiction, the vocabulary is almost as important as the story. Labor Day has always been called that and has been celebrated on the first Monday of September ever since it became a national holiday in 1894. But stories that occur before then had better not talk about a national Labor Day holiday. That reference simply was not in the vocabulary at the time. (Not unless they were talking about trying to promote one, anyway.)

Memorial Day, on the other hand, started out as Decoration Day. It was called that because it was dedicated to decorating the graves of fallen servicemen. People gradually started calling it Memorial Day, especially after World War II, and the name became official in 1967. It was originally observed on May 30, regardless of the day of the week. Then, in 1968, in a quest for three-day weekends, Congress moved it to the last Monday in May. Anyone who includes Memorial Day in a historical novel needs to be award of this history.

So what made me think about historical terminology now? I am currently researching a book that takes place during World War I. But I can’t call it that because, at the time, nobody knew there would be a World War II. In fact, some people called it “the war to end all wars.” Obviously, they were wrong. During that war, and up until there was a second world war to make this one the first, people called it “the war in Europe” or “the Great War” or simply “the war.” In writing my story, I need to use the same terminology that my characters would have used.

Because the wrong vocabulary tells the world that you don’t care about historical accuracy.

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The picture at the top of this post shows an early Labor Day parade. I couldn’t find an exact year or location for the photo, but it is in the public domain because of its age.