On Monday, May 26, 2025, we celebrate Memorial Day. It is a day for family gatherings, good fun, food, and most of all, the forgotten part, remembering those who did not return from war. But how did this day get started?
Three years after the Civil War, on May 5th, 1868, the head of an organization of Union Veterans, the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Major General John A. Logan declared it should be May 30th. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in full bloom all over the country.
The first large gathering was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac from Washington, D. C. The ceremonies centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of General Robert E. Lee. Various officials, including General and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies.
Once all the speeches had been made, children from the soldiers’ and sailors’ orphans’ homes made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on the graves of Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers, and singing hymns.
This was the first official Memorial Day, although others had already been celebrated elsewhere, especially in the South. In 1966, President Johnson declared Waterloo, New York, the birthplace of Memorial Day. There a ceremony had taken place on May 5th, 1866 honoring local veterans who died in the Civil War. It was not until after WW1 that the ceremony was declared for all war dead, and in 1971, Memorial Day was declared a National Holiday by act of Congress.
As we gather with families and friends, let us not forget why we are together. It is because of those brave enough to give the ultimate sacrifice for their families and ours. America is truly a God given place, and God also gave us those who were willing to die for it. We must never forget the true meaning!
HAVE A JOYOUS AND THOUGHTFUL MEMORIAL DAY!
