Your kids might ask "Why do we celebrate Memorial Day?" and you might be stumped with how to answer. Simple answer, it's a day to remember those who died serving our country. Here's some quick facts if you want to give them a little more information.
- Since the late 1950′s on the Thursday just before the Memorial Day, around 1200 soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing.
- In 1951, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of St. Louis began placing flags on the 150,000 graves at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery as an annual Good Turn, and tradition that continues to this day.
- In 1998, on the Saturday before the observed day for Memorial Daythe Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts participate in what they call their Luminaria Program. They place a candle at each of approximately 15,300 grave sites of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park on Marye’s Heights
- In the year 2000 the National Moment of Remembrance Resolution passed. At 3pm on Memorial Day all Americans are asked to voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance & respect by pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence.
- On Memorial Day, the flag should be at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top of the staff.
- Red Poppies are recognized as the Memorial Day flower.
- Memorial Day was first called “Decoration Day” because of the practice of decorating soldier’s graves with flowers.
- New York was the 1st state to officially recognize Memorial Day.
- Memorial Day was declared a federal holiday in 1971.
Have a fun, safe, and memorable Memorial Day weekend !
We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them. ~Francis A. Walker
