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Celebrating Memorial Day at Dakota Carson Realty Group

By
Real Estate Agent with Team Real Estate Sprigfield

Celebrating Memorial Day at Dakota Carson Realty Group

We at DCRG hope that you have a fantastic summer and it always begins with the 3 day weekend celebrating Memorial Day.  We love spending time with family and friends at the beach, lake or pool and grilling our favorite summer foods, but let's not forget the true meaning of the this holiday.

The History of Memorial Day

Originally called Decoration Day, from the early tradition of decorating graves with flowers, wreaths and flags, Memorial Day is a day for remembrance of those who have died in service to our country. It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868 to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, by proclamation of Gen. John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former Union sailors and soldiers.

During that first national celebration, former Union Gen. and sitting Ohio Congressman James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers who were buried there.

This event was inspired by local observances of the day that had taken place in several towns throughout America in the three years after the Civil War. In 1873, New York was the first state to designate Memorial Day as a legal holiday. By the late 1800s, many more cities and communities observed Memorial Day, and several states had declared it a legal holiday. After World War I, it became an occasion for honoring those who died in all of America’s wars and was then more widely established as a national holiday throughout the United States. 

When Is Memorial Day?

In 1971, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act and established that Memorial Day was to be celebrated on the last Monday of May. Several southern states, however, officially celebrate an additional, separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead, sometimes referred to as a Confederate Memorial Day: January 19 in Texas; third Monday in Jan. in Arkansas; fourth Monday in Apr. in Alabama and Mississippi; April 26 in Florida and Georgia; May 10 in North and South Carolina; last Monday in May in Virginia; and June 3 in Louisiana and Tennessee.

Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery each year with a ceremony in which a small American flag is placed on each grave. Traditionally, the President or Vice President lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. About 5,000 people attend the ceremony annually.

My grandma loved fresh flowers so when she passed, my dad started the tradition of taking all us kids to cut fresh flowers to put on her grave.  My daddy has since went to be with his mom and others so my siblings carry on the tradition.  Here is a photo from this year's cutting excursion and trip to cemetary.  My mom, younger sister, niece and oldest son are here are the Bailey graves adding flowers.  Love my family!

Thanks for reading Celebrating Memorial Day at Dakota Carson Realty Group!

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Oct 29, 2015 06:58 AM
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