Memorial Day Weekend 2023: Things To Do In Shelton-Derby

SHELTON-DERBY, CT — The upcoming Memorial Day service/parade in Shelton and Derby is part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

The Derby-Shelton Memorial Day Parade is the highlight of the three-day Memorial Day Weekend — May 27-29 this year. The event will start at 9 a.m. in Shelton, at the corner of Wharf Street and Howe Avenue, then proceed through town and into Derby. More information is available here.

Below are some other events and parades nearby:

• Trumbull Memorial Day Parade - May 29 at 10 a.m.
• Orange Memorial Day Parade - May 28 at 10:30 a.m.
• West Haven Memorial Day Parade - May 29 at 10:30 a.m.
• Fairfield Memorial Day Parade - May 29 at 10 a.m.

As the observance has changed over the years, many families also use Memorial Day as an occasion to visit local cemeteries and leave flowers at the graves of family members, regardless of whether they served in the military.

Memorial Day Weekend is also the unofficial kickoff to summer in Shelton and Derby. Below are more ways to spend the weekend:

• Derby-Shelton Memorial Day Service - May 26 at 6 p.m. (Shelton)
• Memorial Day Weekend Brunch Party - May 28 at 11 a.m. (Shelton)
• Memorial Day Confessions - May 29 at 11 a.m. (Trumbull)

The history of Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, dates back to 1868, when Gen. John A. Logan called for a day of remembrance to honor the Northern lives lost amid battle during the Civil War that had ended just a few years earlier, according to History.com. As time passed, more and more people called it Memorial Day, and it became a federal holiday in 1971.

Waterloo, New York, is considered the birthplace of Memorial Day. The town’s observance on May 5, 1866, predated Logan’s call for a day of remembrance. Local businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers and flags.

Until World War I, the holiday honored only those soldiers who died while fighting for the Union in the War, as Southern states honored their war dead on a separate day. After the 116,000-plus American deaths in World War I, the tradition changed to remember all who have died while serving in the military.

Every year, a national moment of remembrance is held at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. No matter where they are or what they’re doing, Americans are asked to pause for one minute in silence to remember military personnel who have given their lives in service to their country.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the midday time was chosen because it’s a time when many Americans will be enjoying their freedoms on a national holiday.