5 Facts About the History of Memorial Day

The last Monday of every May the residents of the USA celebrate fallen soldiers and military who have served their county. Celebrating often means backyard BBQs with family, friends, and neighbors. But have you ever dived into the history of how Memorial Day was started? Here are 5 interesting facts you may not know…

Memorial Day used to be called Decoration Day. Why? The day took place in spring and was meant to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers. May was chosen since flowers were in bloom.

Memorial Day wasn’t always on the last Monday of the May. In fact when the holiday was first declared it was to be May 30th. In fact Decoration Day was originally to honor the fallen soldiers of the Civil War.

After World War 1 it was changed to celebrate fallen soldiers of any American War. And in 1971 Congress declared it a national holiday and changed the date to the last Monday of May.

In December 2000 Congress passed “The National Moment of Remembrance Act,” P.L. 106-579 to encourage Americans to take a moment at 3pm on Memorial Day for silence to remember those that have fallen.

It wasn’t until 1966 that an official birthplace of Memorial Day was established by President Lyndon Johnson in Waterloo, NY, although before that other locations were disputed to have been the original birthplace of the holiday.