Kids & Family
Do You Know Your Memorial Day Trivia?
The holiday originally known as Decoration Day was first commemorated May 30, 1868.
The holiday that became Memorial Day was first observed on May 30, 1868 as Decoration Day, a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the Civil War dead—both Union and Confederate—with flowers at Arlington National Cemetery.
It was established 25 days earlier by General Order No. 11 from Maj. Gen. John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of veterans who fought for the Union in the Civil War. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the nation.
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By the end of the 19th century, Decoration Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 throughout the nation. After World War I, the holiday was changed to honor Americans who died fighting in all wars.
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The term Memorial Day was first used in 1882, became more common after World War II, and declared the official name by federal law in 1967.
Memorial Day had been observed on May 30, until being moved to the last Monday in May in 1971 under terms of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which became law in 1968.
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A federal law adopted in 2000 designates 3 p.m. local time as the time for all Americans, to observe the National Moment of Remembrance in their own way.
The morning of the holiday, the American flag traditionally is raised briskly to the top of the flag pole, then slowly lowered to half-mast where it stays until noon. At noon the flag is raised to the top of the flag pole, and slowly and ceremoniously lowered and removed at the day's end.
In his Memorial Day proclamation, President Barack Obama declared, "On Memorial Day, we honor those who have borne conflict's greatest cost, mourn where the wounds of war are fresh and pray for a just, lasting peace.
"The American fabric is stitched with the stories of sons and daughters who gave their lives in service to the country they loved. They were patriots who overthrew an empire and sparked revolution. They were courageous men and women who strained to hold a young Union together.
"They were ordinary citizens who rolled back the creeping tide of tyranny, who stood post through a long twilight struggle, who saw terror and extremism threaten our world's security and said, 'I'll go."'
—Editor Marie Cunningham contributed to this report.
