5 things to know about Memorial Day

Comment #10

Coin Toss — Mon, 29 May 2023 20:04:54 GMT

Here's a little more; (Library of Congress) (Library of Congress) Originally called Decoration Day, when Americans took time to decorate the graves of soldiers who gave their lives in the Civil War, today’s national holiday of Memorial Day honors all American soldiers who died in defense of the nation. While several towns claim to be the site of the first Memorial Day celebration, one man, John A. Logan, deserves much of the credit for the establishment of Memor... [ More ]

Comment #9

sully16 — Mon, 29 May 2023 18:27:37 GMT

very nice, have a wonderful day.

Comment #8

MADDOG10 — Mon, 29 May 2023 15:40:20 GMT

TY. Have a safe Memorial Day!

Comment #7

eddessaknight — Mon, 29 May 2023 14:55:10 GMT

America's fallen for our freedom, We salute

Comment #6

eddessaknight — Mon, 29 May 2023 14:49:56 GMT

Even in the 19th century, grave ceremonies were followed by leisure activities such as picnicking and foot races, Dennis said. The holiday also evolved alongside baseball and the automobile, the five-day work week and summer vacation, according to the 2002 book “A History of Memorial Day: Unity, Discord and the Pursuit of Happiness.” In the mid-20th century, a small number of businesses began to open defiantly on the holiday. Once the holiday moved to Monda... [ More ]

Comment #5

eddessaknight — Mon, 29 May 2023 14:38:57 GMT

Comment #4

eddessaknight — Mon, 29 May 2023 14:30:36 GMT

Dennis said Memorial Day’s potency diminished somewhat with the addition of Armistice Day, which marked World War I’s end on Nov. 11, 1918. Armistice Day became a national holiday by 1938 and was renamed Veterans Day in 1954. An act of Congress changed Memorial Day from every May 30th to the last Monday in May in 1971. Dennis said the creation of the three-day weekend recognized that Memorial Day had long been transformed into a more generic remembrance of the dead, as well as a... [ More ]

Comment #3

eddessaknight — Mon, 29 May 2023 14:24:55 GMT

Someone has always lamented the holiday’s drift from its original meaning. As early as 1869, The New York Times wrote that the holiday could become “sacrilegious” and no longer “sacred” if it focuses more on pomp, dinners and oratory. In 1871, abolitionist Frederick Douglass feared Americans were forgetting the Civil War’s impetus — enslavement — when he gave a Decoration Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery. “We must never forget that the loyal soldie... [ More ]

Comment #2

jarasan — Mon, 29 May 2023 14:23:06 GMT

TY! On this Memorial Day.

Comment #1

eddessaknight — Mon, 29 May 2023 14:21:09 GMT

he practice was already widespread on a local level. Waterloo, New York, began a formal observance on May 5, 1866, and was later proclaimed to be the holiday’s birthplace. Yet Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, traced its first observance to October 1864, according to the Library of Congress. And women in some Confederate states were decorating graves before the war’s end. But David Blight, a Yale history professor, points to May 1, 1865, when as many as 10,000 people, many of them B... [ More ]

Original Blog Entry: 5 things to know about Memorial Day

eddessaknight — Mon, 29 May 2023 14:17:56 GMT

5 things to know about Memorial Day

Memorial Day is supposed to be about sacred mourning the nation s fallen service members, but it s come to anchor the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of discounts on anything from mattresses to lawnmowers business

1. WHAT IS THE OFFICIAL PURPOSE OF MEMORIAL DAY?

It s a day of reflection and remembrance of those who died while serving in the U.S. military, according to the Congressional Research Service. The holiday is observed in part by the National Moment of Remembrance, which encourages all Americans to pause at 3 p.m. for a moment of silence.... [ More ]