Every year around Memorial Day I see and hear wonderful comments and posts thanking our veterans and our currently serving troops for their service to our country. While these expressions of thanks should be said and shared on a daily basis, it is important to remember what the true meaning of Memorial Day is: to honor and remember those who have given their lives in service to our country. While we are having a 3-day weekend and celebrating with parades and cookouts, families all over the country are grieving for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in order to allow us to have those luxuries.
Memorial Day was originally named Decoration Day; it was started after the Civil War as a day to use fresh flowers to decorate the graves of those who had died in the war. Eventually it was determined that the official day would be on May 30 so that the entire country would be remembering our fallen men of the Civil War on the same day. After World War I the day became known as Memorial Day and was meant for remembering the fallen of all American wars. Finally, in 1971, Congress declared it as a national holiday and it began to be observed on the final Monday of May, with the official holiday still being May 30.
Many people confuse Memorial Day with Veteran's Day, which is a day to celebrate all who have served and are currently serving our country. While the positive thoughts are always appreciated, we need to take that extra step on Memorial Day to remember those who have died for us. To put the memorial back in Memorial Day, Congress passed The National Moment of Remembrance Act in 2000. This act encourages all Americans to stop right where they are at 3PM local time on Memorial Day, and just think about the sacrifices that have taken place for our country.
So please consider, while you're enjoying your 3-day weekend, putting the memorial back in your Memorial Day.
