Memorial Day is a time to celebrate those that have given their lives for the freedoms that we enjoy on a daily basis.  It’s important to know the origin and details about this important day.  Here we present the history of Memorial Day.

1. “According to the Library of Congress, President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, New York, to be the "Birthplace of Memorial Day," referencing a celebration the town had in 1866. However, other places are known to have celebrated the holiday earlier, and exactly where the first celebration took place remains in dispute.”

2. “It was originally called Decoration Day.  The holiday was celebrated by “decorating” the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers, flags, and more, hence the name “Decoration Day.” Over time, it became known as Memorial Day.”

3. “In December 2000, Congress passed a law requiring Americans to pause at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day to remember and honor the fallen. But this doesn’t appear to be common knowledge, or if it is, by 3 p.m. most people seem to be too deep into a hot dog-induced food coma to officially observe the moment.”

4. “The flag is supposed to be flown at half-mast until noon, and then raised to full mast until sunset on Memorial Day.”

5. “Although not as popular today, one tradition was to eat a picnic meal while sitting on the ground of a cemetery. There are still some people in the rural areas of the South that continue to practice this tradition.”

6. “On Memorial Day weekend in 1988, 2500 motorcyclists rode into Washington, D.C. for the first Rolling Thunder rally to draw attention to Vietnam War soldiers still missing in action or prisoners of war. By 2002, the ride had swelled to 300,000 bikers, many of them veterans. There may have been a half-million participants in 2005, in what organizers bluntly call "a demonstration—not a parade." A national veteran’s rights group, Rolling Thunder takes its name from the B-52 carpet-bombing runs during the war in Vietnam.”

7. “The World War I poem "In Flanders Fields," by John McCrea, inspired the Memorial Day custom of wearing red artificial poppies. In 1915, a Georgia teacher and volunteer war worker named Moina Michael began a campaign to make the poppy a symbol of tribute to veterans and for "keeping the faith with all who died." The sale of poppies has supported the work of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.”

8. “While the first commemorative Memorial Day events weren’t held in the United States until the late 19th century, the practice of honoring those who have fallen in battle dates back thousands of years. The ancient Greeks and Romans held annual days of remembrance for loved ones (including soldiers) each year, festooning their graves with flowers and holding public festivals and feasts in their honor.”

9. “The crowd that attended the first Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery was about the same size as those that attend today's observance: about 5,000 people.”

10. “On each Memorial Day, almost 40 million Americans travel more than 50 miles from their homes for the weekend, making the traffic on this holiday extremely heavy.”