Why do we celebrate Memorial Day?

Not sure about you, but every time a holiday comes up I always ask myself, "why do we celebrate that holiday?" or "where did that particular holiday originate from?" Below are some interesting facts about Memorial Day and why we celebrate it...

• Memorial Day, which falls on the last Monday of May, honors the men and women who died while serving in the American military.


• Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971


• It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868, to honor the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers.


• In 1966, the federal government, under the direction of President Lyndon Johnson, declared Waterloo, N.Y., the official birthplace of Memorial Day. They chose Waterloo—which had first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—because the town had made Memorial Day an annual, community-wide event during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.


• Today, Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery with a ceremony in which a small American flag is placed on each grave. Also, it is customary for the president or vice-president to give a speech honoring the contributions of the dead and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.


• Several Southern states continue to set aside a special day for honoring the Confederate dead, which is usually called Confederate Memorial Day.


• Veterans Day, which is a day where Americans honor veterans dead of alive.

(via History.com)

So now you know.Happy Memorial Day.

The Unemployed Entrepreneur