Memorial
Day, History and Origin
I love Memorial Day. Ever since my son Jay was in the Marines and
had 3 tours to Iraq it has taken a different and unique meaning.
Jay’s roommate and friend Alex Arredondo was killed there in Iraq.
Alex was an awesome kid. He has been truly missed.
Enjoy the history and origin of Memorial Day. Hopefully it will
open up the meaning and significance for you.
Memorial Day is an American holiday observed on the last Monday of
May which honors men and women who have died while serving in the
U.S. military. Originally Memorial Day was known as Decoration Day.
The Day originated in the years following the Civil War and became an
official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day
by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and
participating in parades.
Early Observances
of Memorial Day
America’s first national cemeteries were established because of
the Civil War. More lives were lost during the Civil War than in any
other conflict or war in US History. By the late 1860s Americans all
across the United States had begun holding springtime tributes to
these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers
and reciting prayers.
There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the
South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn
published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by
Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the
South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead"
(Source: Duke University's
Historic
American Sheet Music, 1850-1920).
While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of
Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult
to prove conclusively the .origins of the day. It is more likely that
the holiday had many separate beginnings. Yet, what is known for
sure is that The Federal government declared Waterloo, New York the
official birthplace of Memorial Day. Waterloo had 1
st
celebrated the day on May 5, 1966. Waterloo was chosen because it
had hosted an annual, community-wide celebration. During this
celebration businesses closed and members of the community decorated
the graves of soldiers with flags and flowers.
Decoration
Day – Predecessor of Memorial Day
On May 5, 1862, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization
for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of
remembrance later that month. “The 30th of May, 1868, was
proclaimed 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,” he
proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen
because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.
On
the first Decoration Day, General
James
Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery,
and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and
Confederate soldiers buried there. 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.
Many Southern states, on the other hand, continued to honor their
dead on separate days until after
World
War I.
http://www.history.com/topics/memorial-day-history
Evolution
of Memorial Day
Memorial
Day changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil
War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war.
In 1915, inspired by the poem
"In
Flanders Fields," Moina Michael replied with her
own poem:
We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where
valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of
heroes never dies. |
She then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial
Day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was
the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers
with the money going to benefit servicemen in need. Later a Madam
Guerin from France was visiting the United States and learned of this
new custom started by Ms.Michael and when she returned to France,
made artificial red poppies to raise money for war orphaned children
and widowed women. This tradition spread to other countries. In 1921,
the Franco-American Children's League sold poppies nationally to
benefit war orphans of France and Belgium. The League disbanded a
year later and Madam Guerin approached the VFW for help. Shortly
before Memorial Day in 1922 the VFW became the first veterans'
organization to nationally sell poppies. Two years later their
"Buddy"
Poppy program was selling artificial poppies made by
disabled veterans. In 1948 the US Post Office honored Ms Michael for
her role in founding the National Poppy movement by issuing
a
red 3 cent postage stamp with her likeness on it.
http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html
Memorial Day is now celebrated in almost every State on the last
Monday in May passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of
1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal
holidays. This law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.
Several southern states have an additional separate day for
honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina;
and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.
Current
Memorial Day Legislature
On January 19, 1999 Senator Inouye introduced bill
S
189 to the Senate which proposes to restore the
traditional day of observance of Memorial Day back to May 30th
instead of "the last Monday in May". On April 19, 1999
Representative Gibbons introduced the bill to the House (H.R. 1474).
The bills were referred the Committee on the Judiciary and the
Committee on Government Reform. To date there have been no
developments on the bill.
http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html
Have a wonderful Memorial Day,
Charyl aka
Mom8isme
