What is the History of Memorial Day ?
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Memorial Day is one of the most important holidays celebrated in the US. It is a day when Americans honor the brave soldiers who laid down their lives for the nation. This important holiday is also called as Decoration Day, though rarely.
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It was the people of the different states along with the town and city governments who decided to have a day to pay tribute to the brave soldiers who fought and died valiantly during the Independence War. But the first time the day was officially declared a holiday was on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan when flowers and wreaths were placed on the graves of Confederate soldiers interred at the Arlington National Cemetery.
The first occasion that this day was officially deemed as a holiday was way back in 1873. The day was celebrated by some of the northern states. However, soon, most of the northern states adopted Memorial Day as a day to pay tribute to the brave soldiers who laid down their lives during the American War of Independence.
If you look at history of Memorial Day, you will see that it was President Lyndon Johnson who was officially instrumental in declaring Waterloo, New York, as the origin town for Memorial Day. This took place in 1966. Then in 1968, the US Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which also covered Memorial Day along with Presidents Day and Veterans Day. The bill came into effect in 1971, and Memorial Day was celebrated on the last Monday of May.
In present times, each and every state across the US celebrates this day, and it is a national and federal holiday. Even today, the southern states of the US have their own day to exalt the dead soldiers of the American War of Independence, but they too observe this special day.
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