Monday, May 26, 2008

Memorial Day History

We may have lost something when we changed the name from Decoration Day to Memorial Day. While Memorial Day does suggest we tap into memories it doesn’t have the same specificity as Decoration Day.

According to David Blight, a professor at Yale University, the first Decoration Day was observed in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic Charlestown race track. They undertook the job of relocating Union Soldiers from a mass grave into individual graves. They then build a fence around the new cemetery and an arched gateway declaring it a Union Cemetery. This was both a daring and dangerous thing to do at the time. Sometime around 1887 they returned to clean and decorate the graveyard with wildflowers they gathered from the surrounding countryside.

The Confederates had a number of different days they observed to honor their fallen dead.

The name Memorial Day was first used about 1882, but did not become the common name for the day until after World War II. It wasn’t an official Federal holiday until 1967.

Now the Memorial Day weekend is mostly regarded as a time to get together with family and friends to watch the Indy 500, BBQ and is generally regarded as an unofficial kickoff to summer.

For some of us though it is a time to remember those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom to pretty much say and do as we please.

No comments: