Memorial Day is an American holiday observed on the last Monday of May. It honors the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.
Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings, and participating in parades. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season.
Early Observances of Memorial Day
The Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history and required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries.
By the late 1860s, Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.
Did you know? Each year, on Memorial Day, a national moment of remembrance occurs at 3:00 p.m. local time.
It is unclear where this tradition originated; numerous communities may have initiated the memorial gatherings independently. Some records show that one of the earliest Memorial Day commemorations was organized by a group of freed slaves in Charleston, South Carolina, less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered in 1865. Nevertheless, in 1966, the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day.
Memorial Day Traditions
Cities and towns across the United States host a Memorial Day parade each year, often incorporating military personnel and members of veterans’ organizations. Some of the largest parades occur in Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Americans also observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials. Some people wear a red poppy to remember those fallen in war—a tradition that began with a World War I poem. On a less somber note, many people take weekend trips or throw parties and barbecues on holiday, perhaps because Memorial Day weekend—the long weekend comprising the Saturday and Sunday before Memorial Day and Memorial Day itself—unofficially marks the beginning of summer.