![]() This helped ensure a three day weekend ( Memorial Day Weekend) for Federal holidays. 90 – 363), it is now observed on the last Monday in May by almost every state. With the Congressional passage of the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. This went on until after World War I when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war. Differently, the South refused to acknowledge the day and honored their dead on separate days. It was recognized by all northern states by 1890. ![]() New York was the first state to officially recognize the holiday in 1873. On the first Decoration Day, 5,000 participants decorated the graves of 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried at Arlington Cemetery while General James Garfield made a historic speech. Part of the history of Memorial Day will show that in the Order, the General proclaimed, “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 during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land.” Because the day wasn't the anniversary of any particular battle, the General called it, The date of Decoration Day. On the 5th of May in 1868, General John Logan who was the national commander of the Grand Army of the republic, officially proclaimed it in his General Order No. ![]() ![]() Regardless of the location of origins or the exact date, one thing is crystal clear – Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War (which ended in 1865) and a desire to honor our dead. In May 1966, President Lyndon Johnson stepped in and officially declared Waterloo N.Y. It's difficult to prove the origins of this day as over two dozen towns and cities lay claim to be the birthplace. Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America.
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