Memorial Day

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Memorial Day – Monday, 26 May, 2025

Meaning

• a holiday in the United States that honors those who lost their lives fighting for the country.
• a federal holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who have died in the nation’s wars.

Memorial Day is a popular holiday in the US that’s celebrated on the last Monday of May. This holiday celebrates the lives of the brave soldiers who lost their lives in the line of duty. On Memorial Day, people hold parades and memorials for fallen heroes. It was originally known as Decoration Day until 1971.

Origin

It traces its roots back to the civil war, which claimed many lives. It’s celebrated in May because the civil war ended during the spring season of 1865. A year later, many families that had lost their loved ones would pay tribute by decorating their graves with flowers and holding memorials.

In 1868, the leader of the Northern Civil War veterans, General John Logan, advocated for a national memorial to honor all fallen soldiers on May 30. He called it the Decoration Day because people would decorate the graves of the soldiers with flowers.

History

For about a hundred years, Memorial Day was celebrated as Decoration Day. However, there were more conflicts, which claimed the lives of more soldiers. These heroes also needed to be celebrated, and that’s why Congress in 1968 recognized Memorial Day as a public holiday for celebrating fallen war heroes.

Facts

• People wear poppies on Memorial Day, which was originally inspired by a poem in Flanders Fields that was written by a Canadian Soldier in 1915.
• Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day because soldiers would decorate the graves of their fallen comrades with flowers, flags, and wreaths.

Memorial Day vs. Veterans Day

Memorial Day is usually confused with Veterans Day, but both are not the same; Veteran’s Day honors the service of all U.S. military personnel from all eras, whereas Memorial Day specifically only honors those who died in the line of duty.

Even though most people use this long holiday as an opportunity to party and travel, we should never forget the reason behind it.

Example Sentences

1. “My family always has a barbecue on Memorial Day to spend time together and remember our loved ones who served in the military.”
2. “On this Memorial Day, our family is planning to visit cemeteries to place flowers on the graves of fallen soldiers.”

Memorial Day in 2025 is on Monday, 26 May.

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