The History and Significance of Memorial Day

Like many American holidays, Memorial Day is often just another day off for workers and their families. To add meaning to the holiday, its helpful to learn about its history and customs.

Stories abound on the origins of Memorial Day, but a few are more popular and credible. Records indicate that after the Civil War, groups of women in both the North and South visited gravesites, adorning soldier's graves with flowers. Whatever stories are true, the main focus is always the same, to honor those lost in service to our country.

The first official Memorial Day was held on May 30, 1868, organized by General John Logan. (The date was chosen because it was not an anniversary date of a battle.) To honor the fallen soldiers of the Civil War, flowers were placed on Union and Confederate graves in Arlington National Cemetery. New York was the first state to officially recognize the holiday in 1873.

In 1971, Congress enacted the National Holiday Act, and the observance of Memorial Day was changed from May 30 to the last Monday in May of each year. Many credit this change of date to the decline of this day of remembrance, as people focused on the three day weekend instead of the original meaning of the holiday.

In 1915, Moina Michael penned a poem ("We Shall Keep the Faith") honoring the fallen soldiers remembered on Memorial Day:

And now the Torch and Poppy red
We wear in honour of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.

She is credited with the idea of wearing poppies on Memorial Day, a tradition we see even today as veterans sell miniature poppy flowers across the country.

Congress passed a resolution in 2000 to help Americans remember the true meaning of the holiday. This "National Moment of Remembrance" urges Americans at 3:00pm (their local time) on Memorial Day to remember those who have lost their lives in military service to their country.

Today, many communities celebrate the observance of this holiday by organization parades and official ceremonies that honor those that have fallen. Americans also honor soldiers by visiting cemeteries and national monuments and other memorials by placing flowers and flags on graves. Others honor the fallen by flying their flags half-staff until noon on Memorial Day.

Not just a long three day weekend, Memorial Day is a time to remember those who have died in our country's military service.