7 Things People Don’t Know About Memorial Day …

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Things most people do not know about Memorial Day. Memorial Day is more than just a day off work and school .Here is seven facts about the day of remembrance.

  1. Multiple Cities Claimed to Have Originated Memorial day.  President Johnson declared Waterloo, NY as the “Birthplace of Memorial Day “.It’s in reference to the town’s celebration in 1866.However,other places are known to have celebrated even earlier .These include Richmond, VA and Columbus ,MS . Boalsburg ,PA even claims Memorial Day began there in 1864

2. It was originally called “Decoration Day “ : The Holiday was celebrated by decorating the graves of fallen soldiers .People would honor them with flowers ,flags and more .Over time it became known as “Memorial Day “

3. John A Logan Made it an official holiday ,People decorated graves of Civil War Soldiers before Logan’s proclamation .The Union General founded “Decoration Day “ in 1868 .He called for an annual day of remembrance nationwide “ The 30th of May ,1868 is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country –John A Logan

 4. It was not always celebrated on the last Monday of May .General Johan A Logan Intended It to be May 30th .It was moved due to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act .The act intended to create more three –days weekends .This meant certain holidays had to be on Mondays .The Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect in 1971 and memorial day was moved to the last Monday in May

5. Logan may have chosen the date for a reason .May 30 is not the anniversary for any particular battle .Legend has it. That why General Logan chose it .Some historians believes that it was selected for another reason so flowers across the U.S. would be in full bloom

6. Speeches are customary ,A speech is delivered by either the president or vice president .Its takes place at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier .The Monument is located at Arlington National Cemetery ,It commemorates soldiers whose remains have not been identified .Flags are also placed on the 260,000  Arlington graves .The 3rd U.S. Infantry does this leading up to the holiday

7. The day originally only honored Civil War Soldiers .This changed after World War I .Memorial day then began to encompass all fallen   U.S. Soldiers. The U.S. has celebrated it for over 150 years.  

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