Memorial Day

Memorial Day is usually a festive time in many communities.

Usually seen as an unofficial start to summer, many gather for parades and to listen to guest speakers and host parties and cookouts.

It is a day many look forward to and a lot of people give their time and effort to create the parades and other events so many of us look forward to year after year.

And as Memorial Day approaches many of these celebrations are preparing to honor and celebrate the day and the people it recognizes with many of traditional events we have come to anticipate.

While it is great to gather with friends and family and celebrate the day, Memorial Day and its true meaning are something well worth remembering and well worth putting a greater focus on and sharing with friends and family as we prepare to celebrate this special day.

The parades, the gatherings, the cookouts, the long weekend are all things we can share in and enjoy, but taking the time to consider the tradition, the history and the countless people this day represents is incredibly important.

While the short answer is that Memorial Day is about honoring those who gave their lives serving their country, there is a great deal of history behind this day and it is a day that reminds us that remembering those who served deserve our respect regardless of the date.

Memorial Day goes back to what was known as Decoration Day starting in 1868 following the Civil War.

The Grand Army of the Republi c , an organization of Unio n veterans founded in Decatur, Illinoi s , established it as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the Union war dead with flowers. By the 20th century, competing Unio n and Confederat e holiday traditions, celebrated on different days, had merged, and Memorial Day eventually extended to honor all Americans who died while in the military service.

In 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved Memorial Day from May 30 to the last Monday in May.

While this move created the three day weekend so many have come to associate with Memorial Day, locally many organizations from municipal governments to VFWs have worked to maintain a sense of the true meaning behind the day.

There will be ceremonies honoring those who served, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice as wreaths are laid at memorials. There will be guest speakers who will share their experiences and insights as veterans, people who have served and people who understand the sacrifice others made and there will be time to reflect on what this means and how much those who served and sacrificed have meant to this country.

We hope that everyone, whether they are attending a community celebration or hosting their own private gathering with friends and family, will keep the true meaning of Memorial Day in mind in their own way.

Whether it is with a moment of reflection or silence or sharing stories of loved ones who served and sacrificed, honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice is really what Memorial Day is all about.