Memorial Day will be celebrated Monday, May 30, 2022. It is a federal holiday observed on the last Monday in May and commemorates the men and women who died while in military service.
Memorial Day began after the Civil War with both formal and informal ceremonies at graves and ceremonies for the soldiers who had fallen in battle.
On May 5, 1868, the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a Union veterans’ organization, established Decoration Day, May 30, as a time for the nation to decorate the dead with flowers. Arlington National Cemetery held the first large observance later that year.
By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were held throughout the country on May 30.
The Army and Navy adopted policies for proper observances, and state legislatures passed proclamations designating the day.
After World War I, the day was expanded to honor those who died in all American wars, and in 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday to be celebrated on the last Monday in May.
People commonly confuse the meanings of Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Memorial Day is meant for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of a wound sustained in battle.
Veterans Day is intended to thank all those who have honorably served in the military – in wartime or peacetime.
The National Monument of Remembrance Act passed in 2000 requires all Americans to stop what they are doing at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who died while in service.
There are many ways to observe the National Moment of Remembrance, both formally and informally.
The moment of silence can be observed more formally at places such as a veterans cemetery, a park or a picnic ground and can include playing “Taps,” the military bugle call that reflects on the glory of those who have shed blood for us.
A bell can also be rung at the beginning and end of the one minute of remembrance.
Other Memorial Day facts:
•Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day.
•Memorial Day was originally celebrated May 30 until the Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect in 1971 and it was moved to the final Monday in May.
•1971 is also when Memorial Day became an official holiday.
•Originally only soldiers who had died in the Civil War were honored.
•The Poem “Bivouac of the Dead” is often recited on Memorial Day and inscribed on iron tablets throughout many of the country’s national cemeteries, including the original entrance to Arlington National Cemetery.
The poem was written by Theodore O’Hara to honor his fellow soldiers who died in the Mexican-American War. (Bivouac is a temporary camp without tents or cover.)
Monday is Memorial Day ... did you know ...
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Star Herald Editorial