Let’s Take a Moment to Remember!
UPDATED: MAY 24, 2021 ORIGINAL: OCT 27, 2009
Memorial Day
Mark Reinstein/Corbis/Getty Images
CONTENTS
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. Memorial Day 2021 will occur on Monday, May 31.
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.
Early Observances of Memorial Day
The Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history and 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.
Did you know? Each year on Memorial Day a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. local time.
It is unclear where exactly this tradition originated; numerous different communities may have independently initiated the memorial gatherings. And some records show that one of the earliest Memorial Day commemorations was organized by a group of formerly enslaved people in Charleston, South Carolina less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered in 1865. Nevertheless, in 1966 the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day.
Understanding the sacrifices that my Uncles have made to ensure that we can live in the moment each day and with anticipations for having a bright tomorrow, I express my gratitude to service persons and their families! I encourage you to take time today to learn more about Memorial Day and thank a member of service for their sacrifices! Despite what it looks like- there is still hope, still time and still a sweet promise to be fulfilled!
