Memorial Day history

Most people will head to the beach or some other mini vacation to celebrate the official start of summer and have no idea about the solemn meaning of Memorial Day other than it being a three day weekend. 

There are several states, both Northern and Southern, that claim to have started the tradition of decorating the graves of soldiers killed during the civil war. May 30th was considered to be “decoration day” where folks would cover the graves of the fallen in many flowers. General John Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic officially issued a proclamation designating the day for the first time in 1868. General James Garfield spoke to the crowd of over five thousand people that gathered that day at Arlington National Cemetery to decorate both Union and Confederate graves. Because this holiday appeared to be created by the Union, many southern states were slow to accept this holiday and actually created a Confederate Memorial day that was celebrated on different dates among Southern states. 

The holiday became more widely recognized in 1915 when secretary Moina Michael read the poem Flanders Field in a ladies magazine. The poem referenced the rows of white crosses in the poppy field. She decided there and then to wear a silk poppy in honor of fallen veterans and made silk poppies for all her friends. The American Legion adopted this silk poppy as an official symbol of the holiday in 1921. Many other countries adopted the poppy as a symbol in honor of fallen soldiers around the world. You hardly see these anymore. I sometimes come across them in estate sales, tucked away in a jewelry box.

In 1971 Congress changed the date of Memorial Day to always be the last Monday in May so there would always be a three day weekend. Ever since then, it seems the intent of the holiday has diminished ever since and become a time of recreation without little thought given to the men and women who died to keep our country free so we could have those cookouts and beach trips. 

When I was little we always took advantage of that three day weekend to go to Western Pennsylvania to visit my grandparents, aunts, uncle and cousins. I wondered why grandma was always trying to get someone to take the time to take her to the cemetery for ‘decoration day” since she never learned to drive and felt that she couldn’t miss such an important day. You may be fortunate enough to come across vintage postcards or ephemera that celebrate the memory of the fallen and it is very interesting to read the stories on the postcards from days gone by. Please take the time to remember the sacrifices made for us!  Happy Collecting!