--- title: 7 Interesting Facts About Memorial Day description: Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer, used to be the same day, but now it's the last Monday in May. Here's 7 facts about the holiday canonical: https://time.com/110697/memorial-day-facts/ author: Samantha Grossman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-26T13:00:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-14T03:35:46.000Z og:title: 7 Things You Didn't Know About Memorial Day og:description: For starters: it was originally called Decoration Day og:url: https://time.com/110697/memorial-day-facts/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27e0d9b7770a7ae5/6988518c2dce01d61a9e3e00/memorial-day.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: memorial-day.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 7 Things You Didn't Know About Memorial Day twitter:description: For starters: it was originally called Decoration Day twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27e0d9b7770a7ae5/6988518c2dce01d61a9e3e00/memorial-day.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 7 Things You Didn't Know About Memorial Day > Sponsored content. 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Here’s everything you need to know about Memorial Day, the holiday originally observed to remember fallen soldiers from the Civil War._ by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Updated: Dec 14, 2023 3:35 AM UTCPublished: May 26, 2014 1:00 PM UTC Here’s everything you need to know about Memorial Day, the holiday originally observed to remember fallen soldiers from the Civil War. by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Updated: Dec 14, 2023 3:35 AM UTCPublished: May 26, 2014 1:00 PM UTC As we [noted ](http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/05/28/7-things-you-didnt-know-about-memorial-day/)a few years ago, Memorial Day isn’t just an excuse to take a long weekend and loaf around eating grilled meats—although those are certainly among the reasons to love the holiday. So before you head out to your barbecues and pool parties, here are some facts about Memorial Day, everybody’s favorite summer kick-off holiday. ## It was originally called Decoration Day To honor the deceased, soldiers would decorate graves of their fallen comrades with flowers, flags and wreaths. Hence Decoration Day. Although Memorial Day became its official title in the 1880s, the holiday wouldn’t legally become Memorial Day until 1967. ## It wasn’t always celebrated the last Monday of May After the Civil War, General John A. Logan, commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, called for a holiday commemorating fallen soldiers to be observed every May 30\. But due to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which took effect in 1971, Memorial Day was moved to the last Monday of May to ensure long weekends. Some groups, like the veterans’ organization American Legion, have been working to restore the original date to set Memorial Day apart and pay proper tribute to the servicemen and women who sacrificed their lives defending the nation. This year, Memorial Day falls on Monday, May 28. ## It’s legally required to observe a National Moment of Remembrance 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. ## James A. Garfield delivered a rather lengthy speech at the first Memorial Day ceremony Of course then it was still called Decoration Day, and at the time, Garfield was a Civil War General and Republican Congressman, not yet a President. On May 30, 1868, he addressed the several thousand people gathered at Arlington National Cemetery. “If silence is ever golden,” Garfield said, “it must be beside the graves of 15,000 men, whose lives were more significant than speech, and whose death was a poem the music of which can never be sung.” ## Several states observe Confederate Memorial Day In addition to the national holiday, nine states officially set aside a day to honor those who died fighting for the Confederacy in the Civil War: Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia. The days vary, but only Virginia observes Confederate Memorial Day on the last Monday of May, in accordance with the federal observance of Memorial Day. ## Waterloo, New York is considered the birthplace of Memorial Day According to the Waterloo’s [website](http://www.waterloony.com/), in 1966 Congress unanimously passed a resolution to officially recognize Waterloo as the birthplace of Memorial Day. However, it remains a contentious debate, with other towns, like Boalsburg, Pa., claiming the title of “Birthplace of Memorial Day” as well. ## More than 36 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home this Memorial Day At least, according to [AAA estimates](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/23/gasoline-gas-memorial-day-travel-weather-autos/9488057/). That’s the highest total since the recession. ### See 15 Mouthwatering BBQ Photos  Smoked pork hot link with collard greens and mac and cheese at Jim 'N Nicks Bar-B-Q in Birmingham, Ala. Andrew Hetherington  Fried chicken at Husk in Charleston, S.C., named "Best New Restaurant in America" by Bon Appétit in 2011. Andrew Hetherington  Catfish with a selection of sides (including large lima beans, fresh green beans, collard greens, boiled cabbage, fresh mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts) from the daily cafeteria menu at Niki's West in Birmingham, Ala. Andrew Hetherington  Holeman & Finch Public House in Atlanta infamously serves only 24 burgers a night, at around 10 pm. Get there early; they almost always sell out. Andrew Hetherington  James Beard award-winning chef Sean Brock holding house-cured meat at McCrady's in Charleston, S.C. Andrew Hetherington  Whole pig ready to be butchered at Husk in Charleston, S.C. Andrew Hetherington  Smoked pork ribs with watermelon pickle at Cochon in New Orleans Andrew Hetherington  Menu display at Gus's Hot Dogs in Birmingham, Ala. Andrew Hetherington  Hot dog on the griddle at Gus's in Birmingham, Ala. Andrew Hetherington  The finished product at Gus's in Birmingham, Ala. Andrew Hetherington  All 24 burgers on the griddle at the same time at Holeman & Finch Public House in Atlanta. Andrew Hetherington  House-cured meat at Star Provisions in Atlanta. Andrew Hetherington  Bread for sandwiches and hamburgers at the soda fountain in Add Drug in Athens, Ga. The store is well known for the best-value lunch in town. Andrew Hetherington  Crawfish boil on the banks of the Mississippi in New Orleans with chefs Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski of Cochon restaurant. The crawfish are cooked with lemons, garlic, and salt, then tossed with Old Bay and Cajun spices before being dumped on a plastic table for eating. Andrew Hetherington  Lemon meringue pie at Niki's West in Birmingham, Ala. Andrew Hetherington ## Transcript [00:00] Memorial Day is upon us. And as tradition goes it's a [00:03] time for Americans to remember the brave men and [00:05] women who fought and died for our country. It's also a [00:08] time to enjoy a three- day weekend and finally break [00:11] out that special edition, humongous, it's not spring until [00:14] the first barbecue, UFO shaped, charcoal grill. But did [00:18] you know two cities with the same name but in [00:20] different states both claim to be the birthplace of this [00:23] national holiday? Here's what you need to know about [00:26] the history and traditions of Memorial Day. While the [00:29] birthplace of the holiday might be contested we know [00:31] the origin of Memorial Day came from the end of the [00:34] U. S. Civil War. After the war, soldiers in the north and [00:37] south decorated the graves of comrades who died, at [00:41] least 600, 000 by the time fighting stopped. The U. S. [00:44] Department of Veterans Affairs says one of the first [00:47] instances of Americans honoring the fallen took place [00:50] in Columbus, Mississippi April 25th, 1866. [00:54] A group of women decorated the graves of [00:56] Confederate and Union soldiers, but Americans in at [00:59] least five other cities, including Columbus, Georgia, all [01:02] seem to think they were first. A writer at the New York [01:05] Times says the claims of the two Columbuses, [01:07] Mississippi and Georgia, are the most nuanced and [01:10] intertwined, with the misprinted newspaper date being [01:13] the culprit in the who- did- it- first feud. But he also [01:16] mentions a forgotten event in Charleston, South [01:19] Carolina, in 1865, that might have triggered it all. [01:22] Black workmen properly reburied the Union dead that [01:25] were found there. And on May 1st, a cemetery [01:28] dedication was held, attended by thousands of freed [01:31] Blacks who marched in procession around the track. [01:34] Despite all that, Waterloo, New York was named the [01:37] birthplace of Memorial Day in 1966 because of a [01:41] ceremony for fallen soldiers that took place a century [01:44] prior. In 1868, Major General John A Logan [01:48] declared Decoration Day, the precursor to Memorial [01:51] Day, to be observed May 30th, because that's when [01:54] flowers would be in bloom nationwide. But the wounds [01:57] from the Civil War lingered and Americans in the [01:59] Confederate states consider Memorial Day a [02:02] celebration for fallen Union soldiers. So they [02:05] commemorated the dead at their own discretion. May [02:07] 30th became a day to honor all American soldiers who [02:10] gave their lives in combat when U. S. soldiers returned [02:13] from World War I. Memorial Day became a national [02:16] holiday in 1971, and since then Americans have [02:19] celebrated the fallen military men and women through [02:22] tribute, celebration, parades, and more, on the last [02:25] Monday in May. Thanks for watching. I'm Jamal [02:28] Andrews. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/110697/memorial-day-facts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/110697/memorial-day-facts/"},"headline":"7 Things You Didn't Know About Memorial Day","datePublished":"2014-05-26T13:00:33.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-14T03:35:46.000Z","description":"Memorial Day is not all sunshine and hot dogs — it's a day for remembrance. 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