Memorial Day in US: Last Monday in May

Nick Kranz

Washington: Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday, commemorating those who have died in military action for the United States. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It is traditional to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff from dawn until noon.

The history of Memorial Day dates back to the American Civil War. The original national celebration of Decoration Day took place on May 30, 1868. It was an event to honor Union soldiers who had died during the American Civil War. It is said to be inspired by the way people in the Southern states honored the dead, an occasion to decorate the graves of the war dead. After World War I, it was extended to include all men and women who died in any war or military action. In May 1966, President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, New York, as the birthplace of Memorial Day. Originally, the holiday was celebrated on May 30th, but in 1968, the Uniform Holidays Bill was passed as part of a move to use federal holidays to create three-day weekends.

The wearing of poppies in honor of America’s dead is traditionally done on Memorial Day. The origin of the red poppy as a modern-day symbol of this day was the idea of an American woman, Miss Moina Michael.

In war-torn battlefields, the red field poppy was one of the first plants to grow. Its seeds scattered in the wind and sat dormant in the ground, only germinating when the ground is disturbed – as it was by the very brutal fighting during World War I. The practice of wearing poppies was further inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields,” written in 1915 by Canadian soldier John McCrae. He saw the poppies in burials around his artillery position in Belgium. Today, poppies are both the symbol of loss of life and a symbol of recovery and new life, especially in support of those servicemen and women who were damaged physically or emotionally.