Memorial Day Weekend 2023: Events, Parades In Aurora

AURORA, IL — The upcoming Memorial Day parade in Aurora is part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

The Memorial Day parade May 29 is the highlight of the three-day Memorial Day Weekend — May 27-29 this year. The procession is set to step off at 10 a.m. from the corner of Benton Street and Downer Place.

As the observance has changed over the years, many families also use Memorial Day as an occasion to visit Aurora 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 Aurora. As such, that means it's also the weekend some pools in Aurora open. The season for Splash Country, at 195 S. Barnes Road, will begin May 27. The Phillips Park Family Aquatic Center will open a week later, on June 3.

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.