Memorial Day:

Memorial Day first began as "Decoration Day" in remembrance of those soldiers who died in the Civil War. It began on May 5th in 1866 when the townspeople of several different areas went about decorating the graves, of soldiers, with wreaths, flowers and crosses. Also flags were flown at half-mast in honor of the fallen soldiers who died so bravely. Two years later, General Logan declared "Decoration Day" be made official. However, he moved the date to May 30th because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, in attendance were General Robert E. Lee and General Ulysses S. Grant.

In 1882 the name was change from "Decoration Day" to "Memorial Day" in order to honor fallen Veterans of all wars not just the Civil War.

In 1971 Congress created the National Holiday Act making Memorial Day a three day weekend, by having Memorial Day observed on the last Monday in May. This was to allow families to have more time together for reflection and to be able to take time to travel to wherever it was needed to pay their respects. In retrospect it was a good idea, however it only seemed to backfire. Most of the nation's people decided to use the time to take mini-vacations instead of honoring our fallen soldiers as was intended. Traditions have fallen to the wayside nowadays. Many graves of our soldiers, who fought for our freedom, lay forgotten and bare on Memorial day. It is this day in which we are to show our respect and honor them for what they gave freely given, their lives for ours. Yet, we go off camping and merry-making without a moment's thought for them leaving their graves unadorned. Such a sad state of affairs we have let this National holiday for them become. It seems that changing the date only undermined the real meaning of the solemnity of the day.

In December 2000 Congress, in an attempt to get Americans to remember the true meaning and significance of Memorial Day, passed into law the "National Moment Of Remembrance Act." This was signed into law by the President to be sure that our American Heroes and Fallen Soldiers are not to be forgotten. This act, "encourages all Americans to pause at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation."

What we need to do is ask Congress to put Memorial Day back on May 30th where it belongs. Let it go back to it's original day so we can rekindle the feelings of kinship that go with this day. For over the years many places have let the traditions fall to the wayside. Towns no longer host parades. Those that do go to cemeteries, decorate any loved ones' grave in memory of them. Memorial day is set aside to remember our Fallen Soldiers or Veterans and pay tribute to them. It is their graves that get decorated, parades are held in their honor and memory. You can go any other day of the year and remember your other loved ones and honor and decorate their graves. Let's remember the true reason behind the observance of this day and bring it back to it's original purpose once more.

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