Happy Memorial Day ! ! !

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Take the time today to honor those that kept our flag flying high! Celebrate every special person–every second, minute and hour. Thank a very special family of a veteran! They put their lives on the line to keep the flag for what it stands for! Thank you so much for your service! All the days and nights, and the legacy lives on and on. . .

A Brief History:
Origination: Originally known as “Decoration Day”, it originated in the years following the Civil War. The day became an official federal holiday in the year 1971 under the Nixon Administration. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season..

Evolution:  Memorial Day is an American holiday now observed on the last Monday of May. The holiday is special at honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. The Civil War claimed more lives than any conflict in the whole U.S. history. The war ended in the spring of 1865, and required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries.

Traditions: Many Americans observe the Memorial Day holiday by visiting cemeteries or memorials, and holding family gatherings, and participating and attending in parades in honor. The holiday is by no means a new one, because dating back to the late 1860s, Americans in various towns, cities and states began holding springtime tributes to countless fallen soldiers. They decorated their graves with flowers and prayers.

Other Trivia: The Memorial Day’s “National Moment of Remembrance” takes place at 3:00 p.m. your local time.

Start of Summer: The holiday unofficially marks the beginning of the summer season, which goes also unofficially to the Labor Day holiday.

A Few Facts:
I am sharing a few facts, and more, some trivia, some not trivial. . .

• Waterloo was first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866 and was chosen because it hosted an annual event which was a community event, during which most businesses closed and the residents had decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers, flags and prayers.
  
• On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, the leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, arranged a nationwide day of remembrance later that same month of May. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” in a statement that he proclaimed. The date of “Decoration Day”, was established in the name of no particular battle. On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a prolific speech at the Arlington National Cemetery, and nearly 5,000 participants had decorated graves of all the 20,000 Civil War soldiers who are buried there.
  
• Memorial Day replaced Decoration Day gradually, and even though it was originally honoring those lost while fighting in the Civil War, it evolved into honoring all soldiers–because America went through World Wars I and II, Korea, and then the United States officially began observing the holiday completely by the time the Vietnam War was ongoing. We now celebrate for all wars, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan..
• Memorial Day was originally always observed on May 30, the date that General Logan selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for all federal employees. The change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday..
• More. . .
  

The Present:
Have you reached out to a family of a fallen soldier? A prayer is all that is necessary…

The Future:
We will NEVER, ever forget those who died in the name of the freedom for which the flag and the Statue of Liberty stands for!

FREEBIES & DEALS For Memorial Day:
👩‍👧 FREE Memorial Day: Fonts
👩‍👧 FREE Memorial Day: Memorial Day Craft + Printable
👩‍👧 FREE Memorial Day: Star Spangled Banner sheet music
👩‍👧 CHEAP Memorial Day: Ideas, Crafts & Worksheets

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Happy Memorial Day!!