- 2025 Memorial Day is on Monday, May 26th 2025
- 2024 Memorial Day was on Monday, May 27th 2024
Memorial Day, observed on the last Monday of May in the United States, is a solemn and significant holiday. Dedicated to honoring and remembering the men and women who have died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it began in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.
The Civil war
The Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history. It necessitated the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries. By the late 1860s, various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers. It is not exactly clear where this tradition originated; numerous different communities may have independently initiated the memorial gatherings. However, in 1966 the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day.
Other Factors
Memorial Day originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I, the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars, including World Wars I and II, the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
For decades, Memorial Day was observed on May 30, the date General John A. Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees. This change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.
American cities host various events on Memorial Day, including parades, which often incorporate military personnel and members of veterans’ organizations. Some of the largest parades take place in Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C. Americans also observe this day by visiting cemeteries and memorials. On a less somber note, many people take weekend trips or throw parties and barbecues on the holiday, perhaps because it unofficially marks the beginning of summer.
Over the years, Memorial Day has also become a time for more general expressions of remembrance. Americans visit cemeteries, not only to honor those who died in military service, but also to pay tribute to deceased relatives and friends, regardless of whether they served in the military.
