Posts Tagged ‘Memorial Day’
May 28th, 2012 | 
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Mostly from here, because people seem to have no idea of the genesis of Memorial Day:
Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.
A long weekend!
The ceremonies centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion Read the rest of this entry »
I’m old enough to remember when Memorial Day was on the 30th of May, not the last Monday in May, which was a change that took place in 1971. I’m not sure when the holiday changed from being called Decoration Day to Memorial Day, though I recently saw a 1902 Library Journal making reference to the former name.
The holiday was designed to remember the dead from the American Civil War (or however it was called by others) on both sides of the battle. According to the Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve discovered that there seems to be some confusion about the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. That fact confuses me, frankly, though their previous designations would be much more unclear.
Memorial Day, which falls on the last Monday of May, commemorates the men and women who died while serving in the American military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.
Whereas: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Uncategorized, holidays, war | 
Tags: Afghanistan war, Art Linkletter, Barack Obama, Dennis Hopper, Gary Coleman, Iraq war, Memorial Day, obituary, Veterans Day | 
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