What is the history of the Memorial Day holiday?
Aside from being the beginning of summer and a three-day weekend for many, Memorial Day is a day of honoring those who served in the U.S. military and were wounded or lost their lives.
This is why the phrase ''All Gave Some, Some Gave All'' is frequently used in relation to Memorial Day.
Memorial Day has been recognized for centuries.
One of the first known public tributes to war casualties was in 431 B.C. in Athens Greece.
The U.S. had its first celebration on June 3rd, 1861, when the first grave of a Civil War soldier was decorated with flowers in Warrenton, Virginia, paying homage to their service.
The honoring of those who served and gave their lives to protect this country continued and grew.
By the late 1860s, towns and cities all over America began holding tributes to the fallen soldiers of the Civil War.
On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan called for a nationwide day of remembrance, Decoration Day, “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.
After World War 1, Decoration Day was officially renamed to Memorial Day.
The holiday originally honored only those lost during the Civil War, but after World War I the commemoration included all American military personnel who died or were wounded in all wars.
1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May.
In 1971 Memorial Day was officially declared a federal holiday.
In 2000 Congress passed legislation stating that all Americans are encouraged to pause for a National Moment of Remembrance at 3 p.m. local time.
With the parades, barbecues, concerts, gatherings and sales.....
Nowadays, do people even know why we have a three-day weekend?
Maybe it's time to remind them and pay tribute to all our military men and women who sacrificed to keep our country safe and free.
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