The memorial began after the American Civil War for the dead who died for the Union between 1861 and 1865 to honor. After the First World War memorial was extended to all for their country, their lives in military service to commemorate.
The exact history about the origins of this commemoration is unclear. Generally assumed that the first celebration took place in 1868, then known as Decoration Day because the graves of the fallen were decorated with flowers.
Traditionally is the national memorial at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington DC. It is also customary to fly the flag half-mast from sunrise until 12 hours in the afternoon. Many Americans visit a National Cemetery where war dead are.
Also, the graves often with a small American flag. Places as 1200 soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry flags at all, more than 260,000 graves at Arlington and then enter a 24-hour patrol in the cemetery.
In the Netherlands commemorated the dead at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten.
Memorial Day is also viewed as the unofficial start of the summer season and there are many sporting events around Memorial Day, like the annual Indianapolis 500 car race.
History
Many cities in the United States claim the title “Birthplace of Memorial Day” including Boalsburg in Pennsylvania, Waterloo, New York, Charleston, South Carolina, Carbondale, Illinois, Columbus Mississippi, and many others.
One of the earliest stories about the origin comes from Boalsburg, a town in central Pennsylvania. In October 1864 picked Emma Hunter and her friend Sophie Keller flowers to the grave, to listen to Dr. Reuben Hunter, the father of Emma. Hunter was deceased by yellow fever during his work in a military hospital in Baltimore.
En route to the cemetery they met Elizabeth Meyers, whose son Amos was killed on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Meyers joined the duo and together they both decorate graves. Then they decided to come back next year and not just for the two graves, but also those of other fallen soldiers who were no survivors to their memories to honor.
In discussing the plans with others, it was decided a village matter of making the National Day, the 4th of July “. Thus, on July 4, 1865 every grave adorned with flowers and flags and then became an annual event.
Another explanation of the origin of Memorial Day on the herbegraving in 1865 by freed slaves in Charleston, South Carolina, the deceased prisoner of the Union from a mass grave to individual graves. Reportedly, they returned three years later as a reminder to decorate the graves.
On April 25, 1866 arrived in Columbus, Mississippi, a number of women gathered at the graves of fallen soldiers to listen. Four days later, was ex-General John Logan, a speech at a commemorative event in Carbondale, Illinois. Logan, a prominent advocate for herinneringsdag, the national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, a large organization of veterans of the Union.
On May 5, 1868 was a herinneringsdag held in Waterloo, New York. When a local notable, General John Murray, informs him, Logan called for the introduction of a nationwide annual “Decoration Day”. Logan chose May 30 as date, one day that none of the many battles of the Civil War was linked.
In the north the new memorial was soon much respect, unlike the South, where much resentment prevailed against the Northern victory. Several States proposed its own set days for honoring the fallen soldiers of the Confederacy.
In May 1966, President Johnson was the title “Birthplace of Memorial Day” awarded to Waterloo, NY.
Initially the day was not celebrated in the Southern States. In 1882 the name “Memorial Day” was first used, but only after the Second World War she became commonplace. The day focused on the memory of the Civil War until shortly after the First World War, when the focus was extended to all cases in all U.S. wars. After this expansion, the days are increasingly celebrated in the Southern States.
Sourcce: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day
See Also: International Flower Delivery, Florist
