Memorial Day Weekend 2023: Parades & Events In Edison, Metuchen

EDISON, NJ — The upcoming Memorial Day parades in Edison and Metuchen is part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

The parades are the highlight of the three-day Memorial Day Weekend — May 27-29 this year. The Metuchen Memorial Day Parade will be held on May 29, 10 a.m. onwards. The parade begins at the American Legion Hall on Wernik Place. The Edison Memorial Day Parade, will be held May 27, 12 p.m. Click here for details.

Below are some other events and parades nearby:

• North Brunswick Memorial Day Ceremony, May 29, 11 a.m. at Veterans Park
• Cranbury Memorial Day Parade, on Monday, May 29, at 1 p.m. at the corner of South Main Street and Cranbury Station Road. For more details, click here.
• East Brunswick Memorial Day Observance, on Sunday, May 28, 1 p.m. at Veterans Park located at the East Brunswick Municipal Complex.

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.

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

• North Brunswick Memorial Day 5K Run/Walk, on May 29. Click here for details.
• L.E.A.D Festival Carnival, Brunswick Square Mall. Click here for details.

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.