What are the origins of Memorial Day? Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May. Honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.
This year, Memorial Day falls on Monday, May 26, 2025. I enjoy researching as I share my articles with you.
“First, it was originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.
Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season.
Due to General John A. Logan, on May 5, 1868, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, calling for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month, Decoration Day began.
“The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion. And whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed.
The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.
As a result of the Civil War, ending in the spring of 1865, it claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history.
It required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries.
By the late 1860s, Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.
Subsequently, many Northern states held similar commemorative events and reprised the tradition in subsequent years; by 1890 each one had made Decoration Day an official state holiday. Southern states, on the other hand, continued to honor the dead on separate days until after World War I.
For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date General Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day.
But in 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees. The change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.
Additionally, today, cities and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades each year.
Often incorporating military personnel and members of veterans’ organizations.
Americans also observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials.
Some people wear a red poppy in remembrance of those fallen in war.
A tradition that began with a World War I poem.”
“In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae
Lastly, as I child, I remember receiving a red poppy to wear before Memorial Day. I never understood why the poppies were so significant. Until now.
My hope is that all of us give tribute to all who have served and gave their life so each of us can be free.
God Bless you and God Bless the United States of America.
Connie
PS. Here is the article I copied most of the information above:
https://www.history.com/articles/memorial-day-history
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