When is Memorial Day?
Today, most people view Memorial Day as a chance for a three-day weekend, cooking on the grill and as the unofficial start to the summer season. Memorial Day has a far deeper meaning than this, however, one that started over 130 years ago, shortly after the end of the Civil War. There is some debate about where Decoration Day, as Memorial Day was originally called, started. There have been claims from cities in both the north and south: Columbus, Mississippi; Macon, Georgia; Richmond, Virginia; Boalsburg, Pennsylvania; Carbondale, Illinois–all claim this honor. In May, 1966, however, President Lyndon B. Johnson, proclaimed Waterloo, New York, as the place Memorial Day originated. This proclamation was made because Waterloo held official ceremonies each and every year, without fail, to honor its fallen military men and women. Regardless of the exact origin, Memorial Day was created as a means of healing in communities that had been torn apart by the recent Civil War.
