Tag: Ritual

(AP) — This week's midterm elections spawned bitter rancor across the nation, as Republican President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats continue sniping at each other in Washington and candidates from Georgia to Arizona are now fighting in court over races that were to be settled Tuesday. But on Thursday in the tiny southern Delaware hamlet of Georgetown, the electoral winners and losers shook hands and embraced one another in a show of goodwill known as Return Day, with nary a frown on any face. It's a time-honored, post-campaign ritual to settle their partisan differences, at least for the moment, a temporary healing that participants say might offer a useful example for the entire country. On Return Day, Sussex County residents traditionally "return" to their county seat to hear local election results, as they first did more than 200 years ago. "What we need is enlightened leadership, compassionate leadership, leaders who believe in the Golden Rule, treat other people the way we want to be treated," said Carper, who walked the Return Day parade route with his, wife, Martha, with a smiling Arlett close behind. That's because he was only reading results for Sussex County, a Republican stronghold in a deeply blue state. On Return Day, balloting in Delaware's two other counties is ignored. "Why only Sussex? Because down here, that's all that matters," Lawson explained to newcomers in the crowd. But more than anything, Return Day is about having a good time.