{"id":12933,"date":"2023-05-29T07:37:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-29T13:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shieldagency.com\/blog\/?p=12933"},"modified":"2023-05-20T12:59:02","modified_gmt":"2023-05-20T18:59:02","slug":"the-history-of-memorial-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shieldagency.com\/blog\/the-history-of-memorial-day\/","title":{"rendered":"The History of Memorial Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

HISTORY.COM<\/a> | APRIL 20, 2023 | Memorial Day | Shield Insurance Agency<\/a> | Start A Quote Today!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Birthplace of Memorial Day and Early Observances<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more lives than any conflict
in U.S. history and required the establishment of the country\u2019s first national
cemeteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the late 1860s, Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding
springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with
flowers and reciting prayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is unclear where exactly this tradition originated; numerous different communities
may have independently initiated the memorial gatherings. And some records show
that one of the earliest Memorial Day commemorations was organized by a group of
formerly enslaved people in Charleston, South Carolina less than a month after the
Confederacy surrendered in 1865. Nevertheless, in 1966 the federal government
declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waterloo\u2014which first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866\u2014was chosen because it
hosted an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and
residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Did you know?\u00a0Each year on Memorial Day a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. local time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Decoration Day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month. \u201cThe 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,\u201d he proclaimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The date of Decoration Day<\/a>, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn\u2019t the anniversary of any particular battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield<\/a> made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery<\/a>, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Civil War soldiers buried there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Northern states held similar commemorative events and reprised the tradition in subsequent years; by 1890 each one had made Decoration Day an official state holiday. Southern states, on the other hand, continued to honor the dead on separate days until after\u00a0World War I<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History of Memorial Day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars, including World War II<\/a>, The Vietnam War<\/a>, The Korean War<\/a> and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date General Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees. The change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Memorial Day Traditions and Rituals <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cities and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades each year, often incorporating military personnel and members of veterans\u2019 organizations. Some of the largest parades take place in Chicago<\/a>, New York<\/a> and Washington, D.C.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Americans also observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials. Some people wear a red poppy in remembrance of those fallen in war\u2014a tradition that\u00a0began with a World War I poem<\/a>. On a less somber note, many people take weekend trips or throw parties and barbecues on the holiday, perhaps because Memorial Day weekend\u2014the long weekend comprising the Saturday and Sunday before Memorial Day and Memorial Day itself\u2014unofficially marks the beginning of summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visit History.com for the full story and some great photos<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Click here for the full story…<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More interesting blog articles from Shield Insurance Agency<\/h2>\n\n\n