Memorial Day
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. Over two dozen cities and towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day.
Regardless of the exact date or location of its origins, one thing is clear – Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. It was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11. “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. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.
On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.
The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war).
It is now observed in almost every state on the last Monday in May with Congressional passage of the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 – 363). This helped ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays, though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19th in Texas; April 26th in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10th in South Carolina; and June 3rd (Jefferson Davis’ birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.
http://www.usmemorialday.org/?page_id=2
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How will you spend the memorial day weekend?
Mine will be quiet. I plan on watching some of my favorite movies that lift my spirits and remind me why I used to be proud of our country.
This will be the first Memorial Day in a long time that we aren't going camping, but it is supposed to rain off and on all weekend, so it's probably for the best. I hope we take a picnic somewhere, and do something fun, together. No big plans, but we'll have a good time, I'm sure!
Love you, dear PJ! Hope you have a great holiday!
Dear Lady Dowser - A picnic sounds perfect. Yesterday I went to Paw Paw WV to visit two of my sisters. Paw Paw West Virginia........Let's just say I'll be washing my car today. hahahahaha
It took me about 2.5 hours to get there and I listened to country music all the way to help catapult me back to my roots. I love driving so the time pasted quickly and it was worth it when I finally arrived. The view on top of the mountain was spectacular. Just beautiful.....
My sisters were so happy to see me and I was happy to see them too. We reminisced about silly things that we did when we were younger and it reminded me how close we used to be. It was a nice visit.
Did you visit Fred?
Hahahaha - NO!
I actually decided to go visit my sisters after you and I talked about Paw Paw last weekend.
I'm very glad to hear that you had a good visit with your sisters!
I will spend a quiet day at home with my Yoda girl in remembrance of my Great-Great-Grandfather, Great-Grandfather, Grandfather, Father and Brother, who all served in defending America. My Maternal Great-Great-Grandfather was a Union Army Scout who was captured and died of torture and starvation at Andersonville Prison. My Paternal Great-Great-Grandfather was a Scout with the Southern army and died at Vicksburg. Both were Cherokee Warriors.
My Great-Grandfather, Grandfather, Father and Brother were all Disabled American Veterans. My Father and Grandfather were WWII Veterans who served in the Marines and Army respectively, and my Brother served in the Navy during the Vietnam war.
While I pay honor to them on Memorial Day, they all live in my heart everyday. They were all proud to be Americans and willing to give their all for their country and to protect those they loved.
Thank you Raven Wing. It sounds like your family's service runs deep with a rich history of proudly serving. I'm in awe of how much you can trace back. Unfortunately I don't know much from my paternal father's side but my grandfather, step father and brothers have served.
Thanks for sharing.
Dear Friend Raven Wing: You will invest the time wisely. given your plan.
Warmest greetings and most sincere wishes for abundant blessings and peace to you and yours.
Enoch.
I am trying to understand why, if the people of Louisiana see fit to remove the statues of Confederate war heroes such as General Robert E. Lee, why they celebrate as a memorial day the birthday of Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War - a little contradictory, is it not?