A Day of Remembrance

This Memorial Day is a quiet one for us. The weather has been very rainy and family members are traveling, so our cabin picnic plans have been cancelled. I am going to spend the day planting flowers and weeding the backyard; hoping for a few glimmers of sun this afternoon to warm our rain-weary Rochester hearts. We'll do some backyard relaxing later on and fire up the grill for some healthy nitrate-free hot dogs and baked beans.

As I was reflecting on this special day, I thought it might be interesting to look into the history of Memorial Day a bit. Most of us think of it as a picnic day that kick-starts the summer, but it has historical roots that go way back to the Civil War.

Here is a look at the holiday and how it has evolved, according to US News and World Report:

Memorial Day is a U.S. holiday that is officially about mourning the nation's fallen service members, but it has come to signal the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend for picnics, travel and gardening. 

•  It falls on the last Monday of May. This year, it is May 25.

•  It’s a day of reflection and remembrance of those who died while serving in the U.S. military, according to the Congressional Research Service.

• The holiday is observed in part by the National Moment of Remembrance, which encourages all Americans to pause at 3 p.m. for a moment of silence.

What are the origins of Memorial Day?

•  The holiday's origins can be traced to the American Civil War, which killed more than 600,000 service members, Union and Confederate, between 1861 and 1865.

•  The first national observance of what was then called Decoration Day occurred May 30, 1868, after an organization of Union veterans called for decorating war graves with flowers that were in bloom.

•  In 1971, Congress changed Memorial Day from every May 30 to the last Monday in May.  The creation of the three-day weekend recognized that Memorial Day had been transformed into a more generic remembrance of the dead, as well as a day of leisure.

•  A year later, Time Magazine wrote that the holiday had become “a three-day nationwide hootenanny that seems to have lost much of its original purpose.”

It is interesting to think about the history and significance of the holiday to give us a full understanding of the costs of war. As we honor those who have given their lives in service to our country, may we also pray that war never be entered into lightly, without deep regard for the lives that will most certainly be lost and the many others who will be impacted by the actions taken by our government. 

Today, let us pray for world peace.