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Top 10 Things To Know About Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a national holiday in the United States that is observed on the final Monday in May in remembrance of the men and women who lost their lives while serving in the armed forces. 

It was first celebrated as Decoration Day in the years immediately following the Civil War, and it became a federal holiday in 1971. On Memorial Day, many Americans watch parades, visit cemeteries or memorials, and hold family gatherings. It also marks the unofficial beginning of the summer season. Here are the top 10 things to know about Memorial Day.

1. Memorial Day was a response to the Civil War bloodshed

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Memorial Day was created to honour the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. As a result of the loss of life and its effects on communities, many impromptu memorial ceremonies for the deceased were arranged. The women of Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, honoured the graves of their fallen soldiers from the recently finished Battle of Gettysburg with flowers in 1864. A group of women decorated the graves of soldiers in a Vicksburg, Mississippi, cemetery the following year.

Women placed flowers on the graves of both Union and Rebel troops in Columbus, Mississippi, two years later. 219 Civil War soldiers marched through Carbondale, Illinois, that same month in commemoration of the deceased. As they got closer to Woodlawn Cemetery, Union Army Major General John A. Logan gave the keynote speech. As a result, Carbondale became the first city to hold a formal, community-wide Memorial Day service.

2. John A. Logan, a major general, created Memorial Day

American politician John A. Logan, whose full name is John Alexander Logan, was a key figure in the development of Memorial Day.  He set aside May 30 of that year as a special event to decorate the graves of fallen comrades who bravely gave their lives in defence of their country during the recent revolt in his formal decree, General Order No. 11, issued on May 5, 1868.

The orders expressed the sincere hope that this mournful occasion would continue “from year to year, as long as any war survivor exists to pay tribute to the loved memories of their dead colleagues.”

3. The holiday was long known as Decoration Day

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Owing to the custom of placing flags, flowers, and decorations on graves, the occasion has long been known as Decoration Day. Although “Memorial Day” has been in use since 1882, the previous name didn’t vanish until after World War II. Federal legislation didn’t make “Memorial Day” the recognised name until 1967.

4. Memorial Day is more of a commercial holiday than a national one

Memorial Day should not really be referred to as a “national holiday.” Although Congress has established 11 federal holidays, including Memorial Day and Juneteenth, they solely pertain to government personnel and the District of Columbia. Established in 1888, Federal Memorial Day permitted Civil War veterans—many of whom were receiving government pay—to remember their lost friends without being penalised for a day’s work.

The first state to declare Memorial Day a legal holiday was New York, which did so in 1873. More northern states followed suit in the later years, and by the 1890s, the majority had embraced the holiday. However, the Confederate states were not particularly enthusiastic about a holiday honouring people who, in the words of General Logan, “combined to quell the late revolt.” The South didn’t adopt May 30 as Memorial Day until after World War I, widening its meaning to include all those who lost their lives in the country’s wars. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which was put into effect in 1971, marked a significant change by moving Memorial Day from its fixed date of May 30 to the final Monday.

5. Memorial Day observes specific flag customs

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Specific flag traditions are observed on Memorial Day. flag bearers are required to raise the flag quickly to full staff at sunrise and reduce it gently to half staff after that. This action honours the military personnel who have sacrificed their lives. The flag should be immediately lowered to half-staff at noon in remembrance of all those who have served.

Another cherished Memorial Day custom is the laying of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the US President. Presidents have paid respects to all those who lost their lives defending their nation by visiting the sacred spot for decades. The president, or a dignitary in his place, will also speak at the neighbouring amphitheatre in addition to laying a wreath.

6. Newly freed slaves held one of the very earliest Memorial Day celebrations in history

People who had just been freed from slavery in Charleston, South Carolina, staged one of the very first Memorial Day celebrations in history. To bury and honour killed Union soldiers, freed people gathered on May 1, 1865, together with U.S. Colored Troops members. A procession of 10,000 people sang hymns and placed flowers on graves as they circled an old racecourse.

7. Memorial Day is associated with poppies

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When the bright red flowers started to blossom on World War I battlefields after the war’s end, people used poppies to honour lost soldiers. When Georgia teacher and wartime volunteer Moina Michael wrote the poem “We Shall Keep the Faith” as part of a campaign to make poppies a national symbol of remembrance in 1915, the flower also became a tradition for Memorial Day. Poppies were originally used as a symbol to honour British soldiers who died in World War I.

8. Memorial Day has not always been a peaceful day 

On May 30, 1937, the Memorial Day Massacre, the most bloody labour struggle in American history, happened in Chicago. A group of Chicago police officers stood guard outside the Republic Steel Plant gate while striking workers, their families, and community residents protested.

As a result of police clubs, tear gas and gunfire, ten demonstrators died and about 90 more were hurt. Regrettably, Memorial Day weekend 2019 saw another outbreak of violence on Chicago’s West Side, in which at least 43 persons suffered gunshot wounds.

9. Donations and acts of service are encouraged on Memorial Day

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Although Union General John A. Logan was the one who pushed for a national day of remembrance, President Lincoln’s desire for a genuine reconciliation between the North and South is where the holiday got its start.

Acts of kindness and forgiveness by men, women, and children across the country were the only meaningful way to recover from such fierce hostilities—which took the lives of more than 600,000 Americans on both sides. On Memorial Day, gifts and charitable deeds are encouraged, especially in support of our military and their families, carrying on this tradition.

10. In the history of Memorial Day, two poems, in particular, are important

Francis Miles Finch’s “The Blue and the Gray” and Colonel John McCrae’s “On Flanders Field” are two poems in particular that had a major impact on Memorial Day history. Judge Finch, who served in the North during the American Civil War, pleaded with the victor to “banish our hatred forever when they wreath the graves of our fallen.” In World War One, McCrae worked as a brigade surgeon. His poem’s opening lines are well-known: “On Flanders Field the Poppies Blow/Between the Crosses, Row on Row.” 

Memorial Day has traditionally been observed to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and suffered the greatest loss in return for the freedom of the nation and their fellow citizens. As a result, they deserve to be rewarded in the most outstanding and heartfelt manner.