Memorial Day Trivia

Memorial Day trivia for everyone, there is no prize to be won here, but perhaps you will learn something and that is our reward. The answers to these trivia questions follow the questions.

1. What was the first state, which officially celebrated Memorial Day?

2. Originally, Memorial Day was first known as what, the hint is the day begins with the letter d.

3. Why do we celebrate Memorial Day?

4. Who is General John Alexander Logan and what role does his memory play in our Memorial Day celebrations?

5. On this special day of remembrance, should the American Flag be half raised all-day or fly in all her glory at full mast?

6. What is the nationally recognized flower of Memorial Day?

7. What day of the week is Memorial Day held on?

Memorial day is not all about the heralding of warm summer months as most people believe but a day of remembrance to honor those who gave their lives so that all Americans could enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit if happiness.

Most Americans will spend this day, with family and friends in the afternoon having the first picnics of the season, and enjoying the warm weather. In the morning, most of us will go to the graves of our grandparents and lay flowers while offering a prayer.

My Grandfather Elliott Timm served in Germany during the war, and I will visit his grave to lay flowers there, but I will also lay flowers Grandma Doris Timm's grave as well which in next to grandpa's. I could not imagine honoring only my grandfather on this special day and ignoring grandma's.

Here are the answers to the trivia questions for this special Memorial Day learning activity.

1. New York was the first state, which officially celebrated Memorial Day in 1968, making it the birthplace of this holiday.

2. Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day and it celebrated the memory of those soldiers who had died serving the country during the civil war. Southern states rejected to celebrate those fallen soldiers on Memorial Day until after WWI when the meaning of Memorial Day changed from honoring to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war either at home or aboard.

3. Memorial Day is a day of commemoration of those who have died fighting for the freedom of every American.

4. General John Alexander Logan declared that Memorial Day is to be observed by decorating the gravestones of soldiers who died while fighting for our freedom. He was a man of passion who believed that no one should be forgotten for the scarf ices they gave so that all of us could enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy.

5. On Memorial Day Old Glory should be at flown at half-mast until noon, then she should be raised to the fly at full mast.

6. Red Poppies are recognized as the Memorial Day flower these littler red flowers were first worn back in 1915 to honor fallen soldiers. When you see the folks from the VFW selling the red poppies out side of your local stores, purchase one and wear it proudly for those who died giving us our freedom.

7. This holiday is always celebrated on the last Monday of the month of May and has been this way since 1971 when the National Holiday Act of 1971changed it from May 30 to the last Monday.

Sources include:

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyseneca/memorial.htm