Memorial Day 2013, May 27th 2013
When is Memorial Day in 2013 ?
Memorial Day in 2013 year is on May 27th. In the United States Memorial Day is celebrated every year on the last Monday of May.
Origins of Memorial Day
The origins of Memorial Day are related to the Civil War and the commemoration of the fallen union soldiers. The former name of this holiday was Decoration Day, due to the fact that the graves of the soldiers were decorated with flowers.
It seems that the tradition started in Charleston, South Carolina in 1865. The black slaves got organized and went to the unmarked graves of the soldiers and buried individually each man so that everybody could be honored at his own grave. Then they built a fence around the cemetery and added the inscription “Martyrs of the Race Course”. A parade was organized and it wad led by black children who brought roses to the graves of those who died to serve the nation. A lot of people gathered at the cemetery and prayed for the soldiers’ souls and preachers read from the Bible.
In the North it was General John A. Logan who brought this event into public attention. He expressed his ideas that the Decoration Day should be a national commemoration tradition and as a result it was decided that May 30th should be the date when Decoration Day would be celebrated. Everybody agreed to this date as it was not the anniversary of a battle.
During the years the events spread in every state until it become an official state holiday in 1871. In 1882 it was used for the first time the name Memorial Day. However it was not declared until in 1967 the official name of the holyday.
Every year famous events take place at Gettysburg National Cemetery in Pennsylvania and Arlington National Cemetery near Washington.
Traditions of Memorial Day
There are some national traditions of Memorial Day like: the Indianapolis and the Coca Cola 600 auto races, the Memorial Tournament of golf or the Memorial Day Concert. Furthermore, as a sign of respect, at 3 o’clock local time a moment of remembrance is held in the memory of the fallen heroes and the flag of the United States is half-staff till noon.
But the Memorial Day is celebrated in every single town of the country with military parades, speeches of the veterans and visits to the local cemeteries. The Americans honor not only those who died for their country but also their ancestors, family and friends who passed in eternity.
Memorial Day is a good reason for the entire family to gather for a barbecue and to celebrate the beginning of the summer. They also use it to celebrate pool parties, picnics and trips in the open.
Happy Memorial Day 2013!
