Celebrate on: Last Monday in May

This holiday, on the fourth Monday of every May, is a day on which Americans honor the dead. Originally a day on which flags and flowers were placed on graves of soldiers who died in the American Civil War, it has become a day on which the dead of all wars and all other dead are remembered the same way.

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

In 1971, along with other holidays, President Richard Nixon declared Memorial Day a federal holiday on the last Monday in May. Cities all around the United States hold their own ceremonies on the last Monday in May to pay respect to the men and women who have died in wars or in the service of their country. In many communities, special ceremonies are held in cemeteries or at monuments for the war dead by veterans of military services. Some hold parades and others hold memorial services or special programs in churches, schools or other public meeting places.

Memorial Day is not limited to honor only those Americans from the armed forces. It is also a day for personal remembrance. Families and individuals honor the memories of their loved ones who have died. Church services, visits to the cemetery, flowers on graves or even silent tribute mark the day with dignity and solemnity.

On Memorial Day, the President or Vice President of the United States gives a speech and lays a wreath on the tombs. Members of the armed forces shoot a rifle salute in the air. Veterans and families come to lay their own wreaths and say prayers. It is a day of reflection.

Publication:

• Celebrate! Holidays in the USA: Memorial Day

• Civil War Soldier and Sailor System (National Park Service)
• Selected Civil War Photographs (Library of Congress)
• Facts for Features: *Special Edition* Dedication of National World War II Memorial (U.S. Census Bureau)
• Memorial Day (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs)
• VA Kids (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs)
• Funmunch.com: Memorial Day
• Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington National Cemetery