This year's Memorial Day weekend was obviously extra fun. There were many reasons to celebrate.... Eric's graduation from St. Thomas, visits from friends and family, and Carl and Meg's first barbecue at their new home. As I woke up this morning feeling a little groggy from the previous evenings, I realized that this was a great holiday weekend for the celebrations that occurred on the weekend, not so much Memorial Day itself. I acknowledged the reasons I love Memorial Day (i.e., grilling, get togethers, yard games, ect.) are pretty superficial and not really what the holiday is all about. Thankful for the extra day of rest, I decided that it was necessary to figure out what Memorial Day is really all about. Here's a summary of what I found out on the history of memorial day....
It has been cited that some of the first Memorial Day celebrations took place before the end of the American Civil War in 1865. The first official Memorial Day, then called Decoration Day, was celebrated in Waterloo, New York on May 5th, 1866 in order to commemorate those who died in the American Civil War.
Gen John A. Logan, a Union Veteran, was impressed by the way that the Confederate soldiers honored their dead and decided the Union Army needed a similiar celebration. So on May 5th 1868, he established Decoration Day. On May 30, 1868 flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemeraty.
New York became the first state to officially recognize the holiday in 1873, and was followed by all the northern states in 1890. Many southern states refused to recognize the holiday due to lingering hostility toward the Union army. After World War 1, Decoration Day was expanded to include the dead from the Spanish American War and World War 1. At this time, most of the southern states began to celebrate Decoration Day.
In 1915, Moina Michael, inspired by the peom In Flander's Feild, conceived the idea of wearing red poppies in order to honor those who lost thier lives serving the nation. She sold red poppies to her friends and family, giving the proceeds to veterans in need. The idea caught on thoughout the United States and other nations. Artifical red poppies continue to be made by disabled veterans and sold in order to benefit veterans and thier dependents.
In 1954, Congress changed the name of the holiday from Decoration Day to Memorial Day. The National Holiday Act of 1968 moved Memorial Day to the last Monday in May beginning in 1971.
To help remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the National Moment of Remembrance resolution was passed December 2000. This act asks for all Americans at 3 pm local time, "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps.'
I suppose I can say this bit research is my voluntary observance of Memorial Day. Now that I have a good idea of what the holiday is all about, I must say a sincere thank you to all those who gave thier lives in service of our nation... and to the families of those soliders. THANK YOU.
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