Memorial Day Trivia | 30 facts about the federal holiday

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the US. It is celebrated on the last Monday of May.

So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the holiday.

1. Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States
2. It wads originally known as Decoration Day
3. It is a holiday for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have died while serving in the United States armed forces
4. It is observed on the last Monday of May
5. It was formerly observed on May 30 from 1868 to 1970
6. Many people visit cemeteries and memorials on Memorial Day to honor and mourn those who died while serving in the U.S. military
7. Many volunteers place an American flag on graves of military personnel in national cemeteries
8. Memorial Day is also considered the unofficial beginning of summer in the United States
9. Many cities and people have claimed to have first celebrated the event
10. In 1868, General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic called for a “Decoration Day”, which was widely celebrated
11. By 1890, every Northern state had adopted it as a holiday
12. The World Wars turned it into a generalized day of remembrance instead of just for the Civil War
13. In 1971, Congress standardized the holiday as “Memorial Day” and changed its observance to the last Monday in May
14. Two other days celebrate those who have served or are serving in the U.S. military
15. Armed Forces Day (which is earlier in May), an unofficial U.S. holiday for honoring those currently serving in the armed forces
16. And Veterans Day (on November 11), which honors those who have served in the United States Armed Forces
17. The history of Memorial Day in the United States is complex
18. The U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs recognizes that approximately 25 places claim to have originated the holiday
19. At Columbus [Georgia] State University there is a Center for Memorial Day Research and the University of Mississippi incorporates a Center for Civil War Research that has also led research into Memorial Day’s origins
20. The practice of decorating soldiers’ graves with flowers is an ancient custom
21. Soldiers’ graves were decorated in the U.S. before and during the American Civil War
22. Many of the origination claims are myths, unsupported by evidence, while others are one-time cemetery dedications or funeral tributes
23. In 2014, one scholarly effort attempted to separate the myths and one-time events from the activities that actually led to the establishment of the federal holiday
24. In Memorial Day, a 2012 war film starring James Cromwell, Jonathan Bennett, and John Cromwell, a character recalls and relives memories of World War II
25. Charles Ives’s symphonic 1912 poem Decoration Day depicts the holiday as he experienced it in his childhood
26. With his father’s band leading the way to the town cemetery, the playing of “Taps” on a trumpet
27. And a livelier march tune on the way back to the town
28. It is frequently played with three other Ives works based on holidays
29. As the second movement of A Symphony: New England Holidays
30. American rock band Drive-By Truckers released a Jason Isbell–penned song titled “Decoration Day” on their 2003 album of the same title