Memorial Day - Nikki Lorenzini

Memorial Day, formerly known as Decoration Day, commemorates the men and women who died while in the service for the United States. It was enacted to honor Union solders from the Civil war and celebrated near the day of reunification after the war. The first celebration was held by former slaves at the Washington Race Course in Charleston, SC, which was used as a temporary Confederate prison camp as well as a mass grave for the soldiers from the Union army. After everything had ended, freed slaves exhumed the bodies and reburied them properly in their own graves. On May 1, 1865, after the work had been completed, the local paper reported that a crowd of about 10,000 people went to the location and held sermons, singing, and a picnic.

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan. However, the first state to recognize the holiday officially was New York, in 1873. By 1890, all the northern states recognized the holiday. The South refused to take part, and honored its fallen soldiers on separate days until after World War I. It was only then that the holiday changed from honoring just those who had died in the Civil War to include soldiers who died in any war. The name Memorial Day was first used in 1882, but didn’t become common until after WWII, and was finally made official in 1967. The following year, Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved three holidays to the dates they now occupy, and create three-day weekends, including Washington’s Day (now Presidents Day), Veterans Day, and Memorial Day.

Traditional observances include visits to cemeteries and memorials. There is a national moment of remembrance at 3 p.m. local time, as well as the practice of flying the flag at half-staff from dawn until noon. Members of the Veterans of Foreign wars take donations for poppies before Memorial Day. The significance of the poppies is from the John McCrae poem “In Flanders Fields.” The Indianapolis 500 is the longest tradition associated with Memorial Day, dating from 1911. The National Memorial Day Concert is held on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol and broadcast on PBS and NPR. Memorial Day marks the unofficial start to summer.