Memorial Day - A time to remember our loved ones
Memorial Day is a federal holiday in America which is always observed no the last Monday in May. The most recent Memorial Day holiday was celebrated on May 29, 2006. This holiday is a commemoration for the lives of fallen men and women in the United States who died while in service for their nation. It was first celebrated to honor soldiers who were in the Union who died during the Civil War. A long standing tradition held in conjunction with Memorial Day is the running of the Indianapolis 500 race. Read more here on this site.
Waterloo, New York is the official place of birth for Memorial Day. This little village is credited with being the birthplace because it observed it once before and continued it years thereafter. On June 28, 1968, the US Congress passed a bill called the Uniform Holidays Bill which officially moved four holidays from their traditional dates to a specific Monday of the month to create a long weekend. For your information, these holidays including Memorial Day were Columbus, Veterans and President’s Days.
Memorial Day is usually celebrated by people visiting their loved ones in cemeteries and with services being held. There is a national moment of remembrance that is held at 3:00pm EST. Another observance or tradition is to fly the United Stated flag at half mast from dawn until noon. Flags are also usually placed on each gravesite in national cemeteries. Wonderful flowers to search for that are placed in cemetery logs for monuments or for gardens in the home are Ageratums, Alyssums, Lobelias, Salvias and Geraniums. These flowers tend to hold up well with the minimal care they’ll receive at cemeteries and as flowers for this special time, these selections offer choices which are suitable for the red white and blue theme.
In addition to the remembrance of loved ones who died for their country, Memorial Day is also seen as the unofficial start to summer. It is a time for family gatherings, picnics and major sporting events. There is a national campaign called “Click It or Ticket” which starts up Memorial Day weekend. This campaign signifies that the season which is most dangerous for auto and other safety related incidents is beginning.
Memorial Day was formerly celebrated on May 30th and there are some groups such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) who wish that it would be returned to this date. They feel that having it on a long weekend is a very nonchalant observance for it.