US EditionHISTORY OF A HOLIDAY
- Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States, held annually on the final Monday in May, to honor and remember military members who lost their lives while serving the country.
- The holiday originated after the American Civil War, which took place from 1861 to 1865 and caused over 600,000 deaths among Union and Confederate service members.
- Early commemorations include a May 1, 1865, parade in Charleston, South Carolina, where about 10,000 people, many Black, dedicated Union soldiers' graves.
- In 2011, Yale professor David Blight remarked that the events in Charleston could be considered the earliest example of the holiday’s origins, if that distinction is important.
- While Memorial Day remains a day of remembrance, it has also become linked to the start of summer, with widespread travel and sales reflecting this cultural shift.
35 Articles
35 Articles
The Billings Gazette
History of a holiday
Memorial Day is supposed to be about mourning the nation’s fallen service members, but it’s come to anchor the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers.
Google: Yes, Memorial Day Is Important, But Here’s Why It’s ‘Controversial’
Memorial Day may mean different things to Americans. A solemn day to honor fallen soldiers? Naturally. The unofficial start of summer? Why not. A racist holiday steeped in controversy? Bingo—at least if you ask Google’s AI chatbot, Gemini. The chatbot smeared Memorial Day as controversial in response to an MRC Free Speech America prompt designed to test for potential bias within Google’s systems. “Is Memorial Day controversial?” MRC specificall…
Our Man In Arlington 5-22-2025 - Falls Church News
May is a busy month, full of proclamations honoring numerous causes, ranging from National Maritime Day to Law Day. The most celebrated “day” in May is Memorial Day, which started with a different name: Decoration Day. In 1868, the organization of Union veterans, known as the Grand Army of the Republic, established “Decoration Day” as
Memorial Day evolves from mourning the fallen to summer kickoff
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Memorial Day is a U.S. holiday that’s supposed to be about mourning the nation’s fallen service members, but it’s come to anchor the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of travel and discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers. Iraq War veteran Edmundo Eugenio Martinez Jr. said the day has lost so much meaning that many Americans “conflate and mix up Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Armed Forces Day, July Fourth…
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