--- title: TIME Explains Memorial Day | TIME description: Here’s everything you need to know about Memorial Day, the holiday originally observed to remember fallen soldiers from the Civil War. canonical: https://time.com/video/tWXcaFmN/ og:title: TIME Explains Memorial Day og:description: Here’s everything you need to know about Memorial Day, the holiday originally observed to remember fallen soldiers from the Civil War. og:url: https://time.com/video/tWXcaFmN/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/tWXcaFmN/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: TIME Explains Memorial Day twitter:description: Here’s everything you need to know about Memorial Day, the holiday originally observed to remember fallen soldiers from the Civil War. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/tWXcaFmN/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # TIME Explains Memorial Day > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: TIME Explains Memorial Day [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Explains Memorial Day](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/tWXcaFmN.m3u8) (2:29)  _Published 2014-05-22. Here’s everything you need to know about Memorial Day, the holiday originally observed to remember fallen soldiers from the Civil War._ --- Jul 27, 2023 4:41 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [The History You Didn't Learn: How the U.S. Government Created White-Only Suburbs](/video/gfsY02Jo/) ### The History You Didn't Learn: How the U.S. Government Created White-Only Suburbs [Why We Celebrate Memorial Day](/video/W7C0MCta/) ### Why We Celebrate Memorial Day [Memorial Day 2015 By The Numbers](/video/vMNt6OW1/) ### Memorial Day 2015 By The Numbers --- ## Transcript Memorial Day is upon us. And as tradition goes it's a time for Americans to remember the brave men and women who fought and died for our country. It's also a time to enjoy a three- day weekend and finally break out that special edition, humongous, it's not spring until the first barbecue, UFO shaped, charcoal grill. But did you know two cities with the same name but in different states both claim to be the birthplace of this national holiday? Here's what you need to know about the history and traditions of Memorial Day. While the birthplace of the holiday might be contested we know the origin of Memorial Day came from the end of the U. S. Civil War. After the war, soldiers in the north and south decorated the graves of comrades who died, at least 600, 000 by the time fighting stopped. The U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs says one of the first instances of Americans honoring the fallen took place in Columbus, Mississippi April 25th, 1866. A group of women decorated the graves of Confederate and Union soldiers, but Americans in at least five other cities, including Columbus, Georgia, all seem to think they were first. A writer at the New York Times says the claims of the two Columbuses, Mississippi and Georgia, are the most nuanced and intertwined, with the misprinted newspaper date being the culprit in the who- did- it- first feud. But he also mentions a forgotten event in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1865, that might have triggered it all. Black workmen properly reburied the Union dead that were found there. And on May 1st, a cemetery dedication was held, attended by thousands of freed Blacks who marched in procession around the track. Despite all that, Waterloo, New York was named the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1966 because of a ceremony for fallen soldiers that took place a century prior. In 1868, Major General John A Logan declared Decoration Day, the precursor to Memorial Day, to be observed May 30th, because that's when flowers would be in bloom nationwide. But the wounds from the Civil War lingered and Americans in the Confederate states consider Memorial Day a celebration for fallen Union soldiers. So they commemorated the dead at their own discretion. May 30th became a day to honor all American soldiers who gave their lives in combat when U. S. soldiers returned from World War I. Memorial Day became a national holiday in 1971, and since then Americans have celebrated the fallen military men and women through tribute, celebration, parades, and more, on the last Monday in May. Thanks for watching. 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