Today is Memorial Day in the United States. Below are some facts about the holiday that you might not already know. For more information about Memorial Day, please visit my Pinterest board Holidays Around the World.
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| Collage created by The ESL Nexus |
1) It was originally called Decoration Day because one activity was to decorate the graves of soldiers who died in the Civil War with flowers and flags.
2) Ceremonies honoring fallen soldiers were held in various cities between 1864 and 1866, including Charleston, South Carolina, where freed slaves decorated the graves of Union soldiers in 1865.
3) In 1868, General Jon Logan, as head of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans organization, declared May 30th to be the day for celebrating soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice.
4) Although celebrated in many states, Memorial Day became a Federal holiday only in 1971 and the day was changed from May 30th to the last Monday in May to give government workers a three-day weekend.
5) Arlington National Cemetery, where the Tomb of the Unknowns is located, is on land that used to belong to Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general in the Civil War.
6) In 2000, Congress passed a law declaring a moment of silence at 3:00pm local time as a way for Americans to show their respect on Memorial Day.
