Happy Memorial Day From The Jefferson County Post

Today marks the unofficial kick off of the season that we have all been waiting for, Summer! Today is Monday May 28, 2018 which means that it is Memorial Day. While this weekend may be coming to an end, we can all rest assured that warmer temperatures and summer fun are on the way. However, with all the fun we must take time to remember those who have passed on this day of somber remembrance.

Historically Memorial Day has been known as a day to remember those soldiers, all soldiers throughout American history, for their service and ultimate death on the battlefield. We remember those who fought for our freedom today.

The origins of this holiday can be found dating back to the Civil War when death and destruction touched not a select number of communities but the entire country as a whole. So many young men lost their lives fighting in one of the darkest and most twisted wars on American soil and many felt the impact of their loss deeply. Many wanted to honor the dead but were unsure on how to do it. Many had their own services and decorations of the graves of the dead but did not have a designated day to do it.

Waterloo New York is credited with the creation of that honoring of the dead that would eventually become Memorial Day. The town made the unified decision to close all of its shops and businesses so that the citizens would decorate the graves of the fallen.

A war general named John A Logan decided to follow in the footsteps of Waterloo and bring the tradition to a national level. His idea was to combine all the decoration services into one day called Decoration Day. Decoration Day was nationally celebrated in 1868. Many gathered in Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate the day including two presidents.

However, Southern states felt that the holiday did not properly honor their dead and decided to commemorate them outside of Decoration Day celebrations. The nation would be at odds over the holiday for some time until the time of World War One. Seeing the devastation and the global heartbreak that the war had caused brought the United States to a unified front on the holiday. Eventually the holiday would morph over time to being Memorial Day instead of Decoration Day.

In 1971 Memorial Day would be recognized as a Federal Holiday and was moved to the fourth Monday in May to create a three day weekend. Today Memorial Day is celebrated throughout the nation with parades and ceremonies.

We use the day to honor and remember those who lost their lives for us and all that we have. Today we thank all of those who have served and the scarifies that they have made along with their families and communities. Take time today to thank someone or take time to remember. We must never forget. Happy Memorial Day from all of us at the Jefferson County Post.