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History of Memorial Day

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the nation's Civil War dead by decorating their graves. It was first widely observed on May 30,1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, by proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former sailors and soldiers. On May 5, 1868, Logan declared in General Order No. 11 that:
An 1880 Memorial Day parade
on Riverside Drive in New York City.

The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.
During the first celebration of Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried in the cemetery.

This 1868 celebration was inspired by local observances of the day in several towns throughout America that had taken place in the three years since the Civil War. In fact, several Northern and Southern cities claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, including Columbus, Mississippi; Macon, Georgia; Richmond, Virginia; Boalsburg, Pennsylvania; and Carbondale, Illinois.

In 1966, the federal government, under the direction of President Lyndon Johnson, declared Waterloo, New York, 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.

By the late 1800s, many communities across the country had begun to celebrate Memorial Day and, after World War I, observances also began to honor those who had died in all of America's wars. In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May. (Veterans Day, a day set aside to honor all veterans, living and dead, is celebrated each year on November 11.)
A Memorial Day at the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier.

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. About 5,000 people attend the ceremony annually.

Good afternoon everyone....just got up a little while ago, and am looking forward to this Memorial Day Weekend continuing on....

Gran...your granddaughters are just lovely, taking after their Gran, I am sure...wait till the Chloe grows up, shes going to be another doll...I just know you are so proud of all your grandchildren...

Loddy, great to see you back...I know, when returning from trips, there is always laundry to do, and mail to sort through....actually I like junk mail, especially if its catalogs...we get tons of them...BigDom orders lots of things through catalogs, ,and you know how that goes, once you are on one list, you eventually wind up on the list of every catalog made in America....

Yesterday, we went up to Tacoma, to one of our favorite spots, called the Parkway Pub...its really a nifty little place, with a mostly local clientel, and really friendly staff...and of course, they serve many varied draft beers...which is why we go there...they change their micro brew drafts quite often, so we get to taste lots and lots of new beers....and of course, filled up our growler, with a particular beer which we both really liked...

And another pleasant surprise at the Parkway...they also allow dogs to come in with their human friends....yesterday, a couple came in with their beautiful golden retreiver, who appears to be a regular customer...the dog ran behind the bar, go greet the bartenders, and then made the rounds of all the customers...oh, she was such a beautiful dog...I gave her a really good backscratching and she parked herself right next to me, for the duration of our time there...she would every so often, leave me, ,to check in with her owner, but then she would run right back...I just love places that allow dogs...

Then we headed out for another place, for a yummy Prime Rib dinner...needless to say, we were stuffed full, with beer, and Prime rib, and fixings, at which point we headed on home...once home, Mr. Dizzy, gave me a once over, and was indignant, that I would dare pet a dog(cats do feel that dogs are somewhat inferior)...but after a good grooming session, and lots of love and treats, Dizzy was again himself, purring and satisfied, that we were now home, to turn out attention towards him...

Today and tomorrow, we shall just spend at home, enjoying the holiday.....need to head out for the store, to buy the fixings for today and tomorrows dining pleasure...

Hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday...

Mo, hang in there, with the relatives....much as we love them, they can be a pain in the rump...when my parents were alive and well, and living in California, they would come up once a year and live with us in Washington State for a couple weeks...we loved having them, but could not wait till they left...