Memorial Day originated during the Civil War when women in some southern states began laying flowers on the graves of soldiers. The first national observance of what was then called Decoration Day occurred on May 30, 1868, after an organization of Union veterans called for decorating war graves with flowers. The date was chosen because it was thought that on that day, flowers would be in bloom and available throughout the country.
In addition to the laying of flowers and placing of flags, the holiday is now observed with a National Moment of Remembrance, established by Congress in 2000. It encourages all Americans to pause at 3 p.m. for a minute of silence “in honor of the men and women of the United States who died in the pursuit of freedom and peace.”
Congress declared the day a national holiday in 1971, to be celebrated on the last Monday in May. Sadly, the resulting three-day holiday weekend, coming as it does at the unofficial beginning of summer, has become a time for celebrations, parties, travel, sales, etc., and the solemn purpose of the day is often forgotten. It has lost so much meaning that many Americans conflate or confuse Memorial Day, Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day), Remembrance Day (Commonwealth equivalent of Veterans Day), Armed Forces Day, the Fourth of July, and Flag Day.
This year on Memorial Day, two days from today, please pause — at least for a moment — to remember its reason for being.
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Poster from Ocean Springs, Miss.
Featured image: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., directly across the Potomac River from Washington, DC, is the final resting place of more than 400,000 individuals.
<3 so powerful and sad
Tens of thousands of headstones say more than words possibly could.
Thanks for helping us keep these differences between the two dates/days straight. I can recall when it was still called “Decoration Day.” In the 1960s, when a huge percentage of the population had served in WW2, Korea, or Vietnam, most people were clearer on the meaning of Memorial Day. In those days nearly every family had someone who had been in service. As military service has become less universal it seems the broader population is less aware.
Yep, I’m a war baby and grew up in the ’50s. I well remember “Decoration Day” and the honor people paid to our military (with the notable exception of those who demonstrated against the troops who fought in Viet Nam, when instead they should have been demonstrating against the government that drafted them and sent them there). I think you are right that the general public, most of whom weren’t around in those days, are much less aware and caring.
Well, Memorial Day wasn’t always on the fourth Monday of May. It originally was celebrated on May 30, which wasn’t always on a Monday. I think by changing it to the fourth Monday, thus making it a three-day weekend, it made the holiday less significant and more “let’s party” (and the unofficial start of summer). Like Morning Fog (above), I remember it being called Decoration Day, and flowers were on put on graves of loved ones as well as those who served. ~Nan
Yes, I noted that designating the fourth Monday (instead of May 30) and thus creating a three-day holiday weekend at the beginning of summer had the inevitable result. I blame Congress. I also blame them for creating confusion by changing the names of several major holidays. Why? Armistice Day and Decoration Day were perfectly good names. It’s no wonder people can’t keep it all straight. I still sometimes have to double check to be sure I’m keeping Memorial Day and Veterans Day straight.
After my earlier comment above, I happened to pick up the Sunday Washington Post. That newspaper’s owner no longer gives us real news but they still have an amazing variety of comic strips — 41, as I counted. Amongst all those, only ONE addressed Memorial Day as a topic. (That was “Red and Rover,” about a boy and his dog.)
And back to the issue of fewer people today even knowing a war casualty: it’s worth noting how the numbers have dropped. Total fatalities of “my war” Vietnam were 58,000+; the combined total of Desert Shield and Desert Storm, < 2000. I guess we can say that the continuing shift from blood’n’guts to technology does save lives…
I get a little newsletter that provides 8-10 of the best political cartoons each day. Interesting, now that you mention it, that it didn’t come today. Perhaps there were no cartoons paying proper respect to Memorial Day, or mentioning it at all. Or, conversely, maybe everybody just decided to party the day away.
Yep, technology certainly lessens the casualties. Military drones, for example, can be controlled from hundreds of miles away, or fly completely autonomously. But the downside might be that certain individuals, knowing about the relatively lower cost in lives, too readily start wars. To date, “only” 13 Americans have died in the Iran war.