Memorial Day

Memorial Day, holiday in the United States observed in late May. Previously designated Decoration Day, it was inaugurated in 1868 by Gen. John A. Logan for the purpose of decorating the graves of Civil War veterans and has since become a day on which all war dead are commemorated.

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Memorial Day

 or Decoration Day

U.S. holiday. Originally held (1868) in commemoration of soldiers killed in the American Civil War, its observance later extended to all U.S. war dead. Most states conform to the federal practice of observing it on the last Monday in May, but some retain the traditional day of celebration, May 30. National observance is marked by the placing of a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery. Flags, insignia, and flowers are placed on the graves of veterans in local cemeteries.

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Memorial Day

Last Monday in May

Memorial Day is a legal holiday, formerly known as Decoration Day, proclaimed annually by the president to honor U.S. citizens who have died in war. Since 1950, by congressional request, the day is also set aside to pray for permanent peace.
Both religious services and patriotic parades mark the day's celebrations. In the national official observance, a wreath is placed on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. One of the more moving observances is at the Gettysburg National Cemetery in Pennsylvania, where schoolchildren scatter flowers over the graves of unknown soldiers of the Civil War.
The association of poppies with fallen soldiers was popularized by the poet John McCrae, who wrote the lines "In Flanders fields the poppies blow/Between the crosses, row on row." Flanders was the site of heavy fighting during World War I, and for many who wrote about it later, the poppy came to symbolize both the beauty of the landscape and the blood that was shed there. Poppies are sold by veterans' organizations around the holiday.
The practice of decorating graves of war dead began before the close of the Civil War. However, an officially set day was established in 1868 when Gen. John A. Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued an order naming May 30 as a day for "strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion." The day became known as Decoration Day, but as it was extended to include the dead of all wars, it took the name Memorial Day.

CONTACTS:
Gettysburg National Military Park
1195 Baltimore Pike, Ste. 100
Gettysburg, PA 17325
717-334-1124; fax: 717-334-1891
www.nps.gov
Arlington National Cemetery
214 McNair Rd.
Arlington, VA 22211
703-607-8000; fax: 703-607-8583
www.arlingtoncemetery.org
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. S.E.
Washington, DC 20540
202-707-5000; fax: 202-707-8366
www.loc.gov

SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 403
AnnivHol-2000, p. 91
BkHolWrld-1986, May 30
DaysCustFaith-1957, p. 132
DictDays-1988, p. 30
FolkAmerHol-1999, p. 234
HolSymbols-2009, p. 571
OxYear-1999, p. 228
PatHols-2006, p. 207

Celebration days: May 30, 2011; May 28, 2012; May 27, 2013; May 26, 2014; May 25, 2015

Celebrated in: South Korea, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan