Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed annually on the last Monday of May .
[1]
Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the
fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War.
(Southern ladies...
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Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed annually on the last Monday of May .
[1]
Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the
fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War.
(Southern ladies organizations and southern schoolchildren had
decorated Confederate graves in Richmond and other cities during the Civil War, but each region had its
own date.
Most dates were in May.
) By the 20th century Memorial Day had been extended to honor all
Americans who have died in all wars.
Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who
died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.
[2]
As a marker it typically marks the start of the
summer vacation season, while Labor Daymarks its end.
By the early 20th century, Memorial Day was an occasion for more general expressions of memory, as
people visited the graves of their deceased relatives in church cemeteries, whether they had served in the
military or not.
It also became
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