Do You Decorate on Decoration Day?
May 26th, 2008. Filed under: Monday's Musings.We now know it as Memorial Day, but it began as Decoration Day on May 30, 1868 to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers. The first national celebration of this holiday was held at Arlington National Cemetery and began with this proclamation by General John A. Logan.
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 this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.
In 1882 the name of this holiday was changed to Memorial Day, but it remained a day of rememberance by the decorating of graves. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday to be held on the last Monday in May. This apparently was done so that we are assured a long weekend and are no longer inconvienced with a holiday falling on whatever day if the week the 30th of May occured. When I was younger, the holiday always started with an early morning trip to the grave sites of family members and friends. Yes, we took fresh flowers to use for decorating the sites. My mother had many peony bushes which bloomed at the proper time in Indiana, and thus, were the flowers we used. It seemed to be the flower of choice, because we could look around and see many grave sites decorated with these lovely, fragrant blooms.
Many miles now separate me from those who have gone ahead. I no longer decorate except in my heart and memory. Do you decorate on Memorial Day?