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What is Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a day to seek peace | The Seattle Times Contents Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Memorial Day 2020 occurs on Monday, May 25.

Originally known as Decoration Day, it 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. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season.

Early Observances of Memorial Day The , which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history and required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries.

By the late 1860s, Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.

Did you know? Each year on Memorial Day a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. local time.

It is unclear where exactly this tradition originated; numerous different communities may have independently initiated the memorial gatherings. And some records show that one of the earliest Memorial Day commemoration by a group of freed slaves in Charleston, South Carolina less than a month after the surrendered in 1865. Nevertheless, in 1966 the federal government declared Waterloo, , the official .

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Waterloo—which first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.

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Decoration Day On May 5, 1868, 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, is designated 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 , as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.

On the first Decoration Day, General made a speech at , 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. Southern states, on the other hand, continued to honor their dead on separate days until after .

Confederate Memorial Day is still celebrated in several states and will be on Sunday, April 26, 2020 in Florida; on Monday, April 27, 2020 in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi and on May 11, 2020, in parts of South Carolina. The practice of commemorating the Confederacy became even more controversial after in Charleston in 2015

History of Memorial Day Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars, including , , and the wars in .

For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees; the change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.

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Memorial Day Traditions Cities and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades each year, often incorporating military personnel and members of veterans’ organizations. Some of the largest parades take place in , and

Americans also observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials. Some people wear a red poppy in remembrance of those fallen in war—a tradition that . On a less somber note, many people take weekend trips or throw parties and barbecues on the holiday, perhaps because Memorial Day weekend—the long weekend comprising the Saturday and Sunday before Memorial Day and Memorial Day itself—unofficially marks the beginning of summer.

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Veterans Day is a U.S. legal holiday dedicated to American veterans of all wars, and Veterans Day 2020 occurs on Wednesday, November 11. In 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the

Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and Nov. 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938. Unlike Memorial Day, Veterans Day pays tribute to

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, approximately 25 cities and towns—including two named Columbus: one in Mississippi, one in Georgia—claim to have originated Memorial Day in the years immediately before Grand Army of the Republic leader John A. Logan

Presidents' Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February; Presidents' Day 2020 occurs on Monday, February 17. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, the holiday became popularly known as Presidents' Day after it was

Memorial Day and its traditions may have ancient roots. While the first commemorative Memorial Day events weren’t held in the United States until the late 19th century, the practice of honoring those who have fallen in battle dates back thousands of years. The ancient Greeks and

Labor Day 2020 is on Monday, September 7. Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers and is traditionally observed on the first Monday in September. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday

The nation’s first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910, in the state of Washington. However, it was not until 1972–58 years after President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day official–that the day honoring fathers became a nationwide holiday in the United States. Father’s

May Day is a May 1 celebration with a long and varied history, dating back millennia. Throughout the years, there have been many different events and festivities worldwide, most with the express purpose of welcoming in a change of season (spring in the Northern Hemisphere). In

History Flashback takes a look at historical “found footage” of all kinds—newsreels, instructional films, even cartoons—to give us a glimpse into how much things have changed, and how much has remained the same. Most Americans eagerly look forward to Memorial Day as the official

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Updated 1338 GMT (2138 HKT) May 6, 2020

Headstones are adorned with flags at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, May 27, 2018 in Arlington, Virginia. Mourners from throughout the United States travel to Arlington to visit their loved ones on Memorial Day. [//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180528185126-memorial-day-visitors-pay-their-respects-to-the-fallen-at-arlington-natl-cemetery-large-169.jpg] Headstones are adorned with flags at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, May 27, 2018 in Arlington, Virginia. Mourners from throughout the United States travel to Arlington to visit their loved ones on Memorial Day. (CNN)Here's a look at a day honoring American soldiers who died serving the country in wars. It is observed annually in the United States on the last Monday in May.

Facts Several towns claim to be the originators of Memorial Day, but in 1966 Congress declared Waterloo, New York, to be the birthplace of the holiday.Memorial Day originally honored military personnel who died in the Civil War (1861-1865).The holiday now honors those who died in any war while serving with the United States.Read MoreIt is also called Decoration Day.Timeline May 5, 1866 - Residents of Waterloo, New York, observe a Memorial Day in honor of all who died during the Civil War. Businesses are closed and soldiers' graves are decorated.1868 - General John Alexander Logan officially proclaims May 30, 1868, as Memorial Day in honor of the Union soldiers who died in the Civil War. Until after World War I, southern states celebrated a separate Memorial Day in honor of the Confederate dead. 1971 - Congress declares Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May. December 28, 2000 - signs the "National Moment of Remembrance Act," which designates 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day each year as the National Moment of Remembrance.US War Casualties Civil War - Approximately 620,000 Americans died. The Union lost almost 365,000 troops and the Confederacy about 260,000. More than half of these deaths were caused by disease. - 116,516 Americans died, more than half from disease. - 405,399 Americans died. - 36,574 Americans died. - 58,220 Americans died. - 383 service members died. - 4,410 service members died. - 73 service members died. - 2,347 service members died.Operation Freedom's Sentinel - 90 service members have died as of .Operation Inherent Resolve - 95 service members have died as of .

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