Memorial Day Weekend 2024: Events, Parades In Concord, Penacook

CONCORD, NH — Upcoming Memorial Day parades in Concord and Penacook are part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

This year, there are two parades.

The 3rd annual Penacook Memorial Day Parade will occur at 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 26. The event is sponsored by the Penacook Village Association. According to Ward 1 City Councilor Brent Todd, the parade route starts at Merrimack Valley High School and ends at the former Washington Street School.

"Thanks to all the volunteers working on this important community event," he said in a recent event announcement.

Main Street will be closed around 8:30 a.m. on Monday, May 27, for the Memorial Day Parade. The parade starts at Christ the King Church and then runs from South Main Street to the Statehouse. A ceremony will be held at the plaza.

As the observance has changed over the years, many families also use Memorial Day to visit Concord and Penacook 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 the city. Below are more ways to spend the weekend:

• Concord NH Farmers' Market
• Annual Concord Crew Alumni and Family Celebration
• Murder at the Banquet Theatrical Production at Washington Town Hall
• Storytime Stations at the Heights
• "All About Joel"
• Murder at the Banquet Theatrical Production at The Ice Cream Bar (2nd showing)

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.