The Story of Memorial Day
It’s difficult to believe that this weekend is Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start to the summer season. However, Memorial Day is much more than an occasion for cook-outs, ballgames, and family get-togethers.
Memorial Day began as “Decoration Day” on May 31, a day to honor the Union soldiers killed in the Civil War. The first Memorial Day observance was in 1866 in Waterloo, New York. During World War I, in 1911, the holiday was expanded to included all of America’s fallen soldiers from all conflicts and the name was changed to “Memorial Day.” The date was later changed to allow for long, three-day weekends.
Many people use the day to visit the graves and tidy-up the graves of loved ones as well as decorate the gravesites with flags and flowers.
(photo © newscom)
Tags: may holidays, memorial dayRelated Stories
POSTED IN: US Government Holidays
2 opinions for The Story of Memorial Day
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May 22, 2008 at 6:33 am
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May 23, 2008 at 6:01 pm
[…] start with a bit of history. All Holiday Cafe tells us exactly what Memorial Day […]
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