{"id":15554,"date":"2014-05-27T07:00:45","date_gmt":"2014-05-27T07:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zatista.com\/blog\/?p=15554"},"modified":"2016-07-19T20:44:36","modified_gmt":"2016-07-19T20:44:36","slug":"7-facts-memorial-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zatista.ie\/blog\/2014\/05\/7-facts-memorial-day\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Facts About Memorial Day"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Blanchard Town Hall by Stephanie Berry on Zatista.com<\/p><\/div>\n

As reported by Samantha Grossman at Time.com, Memorial Day is not all sunshine and hot dogs \u2014 it’s a day for remembrance. Here, TIME<\/a> presents some little-known facts about the start-of-summer holiday:<\/p>\n

1. It was originally called Decoration Day:
\nTo honor the deceased, soldiers would decorate graves of their fallen comrades with flowers, flags and wreaths. Hence Decoration Day. Although Memorial Day became its official title in the 1880s, the holiday wouldn\u2019t legally become Memorial Day until 1967.<\/p>\n

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Blue Flag, Nantucket by Jacquelyn Sloane Siklos on Zatista.com<\/p><\/div>\n

2. It wasn\u2019t always celebrated the last Monday of May.
\nAfter the Civil War, General John A. Logan, commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, called for a holiday commemorating fallen soldiers to be observed every May 30. But due to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which took effect in 1971, Memorial Day was moved to the last Monday of May to ensure long weekends. Some groups, like the veterans\u2019 organization American Legion, have been working to restore the original date to set the day apart and pay proper tribute to the servicemen and women who sacrificed their lives defending the nation.<\/p>\n

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I am War by Emily Redd on Zatista.com<\/p><\/div>\n

3. It\u2019s legally required to observe a National Moment of Remembrance.
\nIn December 2000, Congress passed a law requiring Americans to pause at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day to remember and honor the fallen. But this doesn\u2019t appear to be common knowledge, or if it is, by 3 p.m. most people seem to be too deep into a hot dog-induced food coma to officially observe the moment.<\/p>\n

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Is it the Flag by Jon Glaser on Zatista.com<\/p><\/div>\n

4. James A. Garfield delivered a rather lengthy speech at the first Memorial Day ceremony.
\nThen it was still called Decoration Day, and at the time, Garfield was a Civil War General and Republican Congressman, not yet a President. On May 30, 1868, he addressed the several thousand people gathered at Arlington National Cemetery. \u201cIf silence is ever golden,\u201d Garfield said, \u201cit must be beside the graves of 15,000 men, whose lives were more significant than speech, and whose death was a poem the music of which can never be sung.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Island Cemetary by Valerie Vescovi on Zatista.com<\/p><\/div>\n

5. Several states observe Confederate Memorial Day.
\nIn addition to the national holiday, nine states officially set aside a day to honor those who died fighting for the Confederacy in the Civil War: Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia. The days vary, but only Virginia observes Confederate Memorial Day on the last Monday of May, in accordance with the federal observance of Memorial Day.<\/p>\n

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Stars, Stripes, & Cowboys Forever by Lesley Spanos on Zatista.com<\/p><\/div>\n

6. Waterloo, New York is considered the birthplace of Memorial Day.
\nAccording to the town\u2019s website, in 1966 Congress unanimously passed a resolution to officially recognize Waterloo as the birthplace of the holiday. However, it remains a contentious debate, with other towns, like Boalsburg, Pa., claiming the title of \u201cBirthplace of Memorial Day\u201d as well.<\/p>\n

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Splice the Main Brace by Anthony Dunphy on Zatista.com<\/p><\/div>\n

7. More than 36 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home this Memorial Day
\nAt least, according to AAA estimates. That\u2019s the highest total since the recession.<\/p>\n

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