Memorial Day Weekend 2023: Parades, Events In And Around East Windsor

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

The Hightstown Memorial Day Parade is the highlight of the three-day Memorial Day Weekend — May 27-29 this year. The parade will be held on Monday, May 29, 9 a.m. at the Memorial Park. For more details click here.

Below are some other events and parades nearby:

• The Lawrence Township Annual Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 27 at 10 a.m. The parade will begin at Lawrence High School and proceed to Veterans Park. For more details, click here.
• The Spirit of Princeton Memorial Day Parade in Princeton will be returning for an in-person celebration. The Memorial Day Parade begins at 10 a.m. from the staging area of Nassau Street and Princeton Avenue. For more details, click here.
• The Groveville-Yardville Memorial Day Parade Monday, May 29, at 8:30 a.m., S Broad Street, Hamilton, following the same route in previous years, ending on Church Street.
• The Nottingham Memorial Day Parade begins at 10:30 a.m. on May 29, on Nottingham Way, Hamilton, following the same route as previous years, ending at the intersection of Acres Drive and Coleman Road.
• Pennington’s Memorial Day parade, on Monday, May 29, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., starts 425 S. Main Street, Pennington.
• Ewing Township Memorial Day Tribute at the Major General George J. Betor Veterans Memorial Park, adjacent to the Municipal Building, on Monday, May 29, 11 a.m.
• West Windsor Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony, on May 29, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

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

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.