memorial day quotes
The roar of Sunday's Indianapolis 500 race, sizzling burgers, pungent charcoal smoke wafting though neighborhoods and giggling children splashing in swimming pools are among the sounds and smells of Memorial Day weekend. The three-day holiday unofficially starts the summer, kick-back-and-relax vacation season.
Today's merriment, however, coincides with a serious, significant holiday that honors Americans who have died in combat.
Before you dunk your cousin in the pool or head over to the mall for some bargains, here are a few facts about the reason you have the day off.
• Holiday with two names: Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day.
Three years after the end of the Civil War, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic — established Decoration Day as a time to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared its observation date as May 30.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment