GEORGETOWN, Del. - Horses, carriages and crowds filled the streets of Georgetown Thursday as Delaware's unique post-election tradition returned for its 214th year.
Return Day brings together winning and losing candidates, political party leaders and community members just days after Election Day, celebrating the end of another campaign season with a message of unity.
The festivities included a parade of horse-drawn carriages, vendors, families waving miniature flags and the traditional ceremonial burying of the hatchet — a symbolic gesture encouraging political opponents to put their differences aside and move forward.
For Sussex County Return Day Committee President Debbie Jones, the event is about more than politics.
"This tradition is everything. It's about community," Jones said. "Family and friends getting together. Old friends that you haven't seen in a while. New friends you're going to make while you're standing here watching the parade."
Jones said organizers hope the tradition encourages people to move beyond the disagreements that can come with an election.
"We can put all this together and try to get to the point where everybody will forget the stuff from the election and work together," Jones said. "And I think this is something that should be done worldwide, let alone just in Georgetown."
That message was echoed by state Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall, who was celebrating her reelection to a second term representing Delaware's 14th District.
Snyder-Hall said Return Day offers an opportunity for candidates to reconnect after what can be a contentious campaign season.
"It's important for us to come together as one community and support each other," Snyder-Hall said.
She said she had already spoken with her opponent and scheduled a time to meet and discuss ways they could work together for the district.
For community member Bill Parsons, the celebration is an opportunity to see the candidates and elected officials up close while enjoying a tradition he said is unlike any other.
"The people come out. The people are happy. People are celebrating that we have a good union and a good republic," Parsons said.
Parsons also pointed to the event's uniqueness, saying, "This is the only one in the country that does this."
Republican candidate for Delaware's 20th House District, Gene Dvornick, said the tradition represents an important opportunity for people across party lines to come together after months of campaigning.
"The first thing and most important is that it's a true burying of the hatchet. So it marks the end of the political season," Dvornick said. "All three parties, the Independent Party, the Republican Party, the Democrat Party will come together and bury the hatchet."
For Jones, keeping that tradition alive is just as important as its message.
As Georgetown celebrates more than two centuries of Return Day, she hopes it will continue for generations to come.
"I hope it just continues as we're in our 214th year and it needs to go at least that much longer," Jones said.
