Monday, May 30, 2016

The History Of Memorial Day



Today is Memorial Day. This is a day where people in the United States should take time to remember the men and women who lost their life serving in the military. I get disappointed when people consider Memorial Day nothing more than a day off from work to have a picnic or engage in some other type of outdoor activity. There are many more people who do understand the significance of this day. Most of them have lost loved ones to war.

First Memorial Day
After the Civil War, there were many celebrations for war dead. The first recorded observance of war dead happened after the Civil War on May 1, 1865, in Charleston, South Carolina. There were 257 Union Prisoners who died as prisoners at Charleston's Hampton Park Race Course. They were buried in unmarked graves. Missionaries and teachers joined with the black residents of Charleston and organized a May Day ceremony. Freedmen were black residents who had gotten their freedom from the Emancipation Proclamation. The freedmen cleaned and landscaped the burial grounds at the Hampton Race Course. They built an enclosure with an arch. It had a label that read “Martyrs of the Race Course.” It is estimated that 10,000 people, majority freedmen, joined together on May 1 to honor the war dead.

Decorations Day
In 1868, General John a. Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic joined with Union veterans organizations to ask them and their communities to have memorial ceremonies for the civil war dead. They were to decorate the graves of fallen Union soldiers. It was to be held on May 30th because flowers were abundant. The first official Decorations day occurred on May 30, 1868. The following year over 300 cities and towns around the country arranged to have parades and celebrations. The observance grew in popularity over time. This day was called “Decorations Day.”

Memorial Day
The holiday evolved from “Decoration Day” to” Memorial Day” over time. The first reference to the holiday being called Memorial Day happened in 1882. Memorial Day was the common reference after World War II. It was declared an official Federal holiday on June 28, 1968. This law changed the day of celebration from May 30th to the last Monday in May. It took a few years before all 50 states adopted the changes to the holiday.


Current Observance
Today most businesses observe Memorial Day because it is the unofficial start of summer.  Many organizations such as The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and other veteran organizations would like it celebrated on the original date. Many people (myself included) believe that designating a holiday to simply have a three-day weekend undermines the significance of the day. It has become a day where most people don't think about those who died defending our freedom. Many people are too focused on getting ready for the summer months.


National Moment of Remembrance Act
This Act was designated to make certain America's fallen heroes are not forgotten. It created a White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance. The charter of the commission declares it is to “encourage the people of the United States to give something back to their country, which provides them so much freedom and opportunity.” This is done by promoting and coordinating commemorations for the United States Memorial Day, as well as the National Moment of Remembrance. A Celebration of the National Moment of Remembrance requires a person to stop whatever they're doing at 3 pm. local time on Memorial Day. This is when they have a minute of silence to remember and honor those who died during their service to our country.

Conclusion
To those of you who partake in a National Moment of Remembrance, I honor you. Those of you who spend the day putting flowers on the graves of veterans and thinking about their sacrifice, I thank you. To all those who have lost loved ones to war, my heart goes out to you. Anyone who has no idea there is more to Memorial Day then picnics, sports events and a day off from work, I don't know what to say to you.

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