Memorial Day Weekend 2024: Events And Parades Around Newtown

NEWTOWN, PA — The upcoming Memorial Day services and parade in Newtown is part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

The Newtown Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 27 at 9 a.m. is the highlight of the three-day Memorial Day Weekend — May 25-27 this year. The parade forms at Newtown Commons West and will proceed west along Washington Avenue into town. The parade will pause at the Newtown Cemetery and at the Newtown Library Company to honor the nation's war dead. The parade will also pause at the Newtown Borough Hall for a Memorial Day Ceremony. Because the parade pauses at the cemetery and at the Newtown Library Company, the parade will be delayed in reaching some parts of town.

Below are some other events and parades nearby:

• Washington Crossing Historic Park will hold a Memorial Day ceremony on Sunday, May 26 at 1 p.m. The event will be held at The Revolutionary War Soldiers Gravesite behind the Thompson Neely House located at 1638 River Road, New Hope 18938. The observation will include a colonial color guard, fife and drum music, Revolutionary War reenactors, veterans, and other honored guests.
• Remembrance services will be held at the Washington Crossing National Cemetery on Monday, May 27 beginning at 9 a.m. Visitors should arrive early and meet at the flagpole. The cemetery is located on Highland Road in Newtown (Upper Makefield), 18940. Through the Travis Manion Foundation Honor Project, volunteers will also place hand-crafted commemorative tokens at the resting places of fallen heroes and pause to reflect on their service and sacrifice. To volunteer for the honor project, visit travismanion.org.

As the observance has changed over the years, many families also use Memorial Day as an occasion to visit Newtown 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 Newtown. Below are more ways to spend the weekend:

• A vintage baseball game will be played on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27 at Pickering Field (Jefferson Avenue and Chancellor Street) in Newtown Borough. The game begins at 12 p.m. and is sponsored by the Newtown Athletic Association. The game is played in old-fashioned uniforms and by old-fashioned rules.

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.