Memorial Day is... (definition excerpted from Wikipedia) a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 30th, in 2011). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates men and women who died while in military service to the United States. First enacted to honor Union and Confederate soldiers following the American Civil War, it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars.
Memorial Day often marks the start of the summer vacation season, and Labor Day its end. Begun as a ritual of remembrance and reconciliation after the civil war, by the early 20th century, Memorial Day was an occasion for more general expressions of memory, as ordinary people visited the graves of their deceased relatives, whether they had served in the military or not. It also became a long weekend increasingly devoted to shopping, family gatherings, fireworks, trips to the beach, and national media events such as the Indianapolis 500 (since 1911 - this is the 100th Centennial Race) and the Coca-Cola 600 (since 1960) auto races.
I hope you all have a very nice weekend. Memorial Day has always been a memorable time in our family to remember and honor those who have passed away by placing flowers at their graveside. I don't know if people do it as much as they used to. I suppose that is why the name was changed from Decoration Day (decorating the graves) to Memorial Day.
Also, on this Holiday Weekend, We honor those who serve our Great Country! God Bless Our Troops, past and present!
*If you are wondering about Family Movies for this Weekend, please see the Family TV Schedule.
There will be a wonderful Marathon of Episodes of The Waltons that honor our Military on the INSP Network. PBS will air it's annual National Memorial Day Concert on Sunday Evening - check your local PBS channel. The National Memorial Day Parade airs Monday at 2 PM on the Military Channel.