1905 the exact origins of decoration day are unclear although traditions of eating in cemeteries and decorating graves are found in other cultures.
Decoration day in the south. It is also a day devoted to picnics road races commencements and double headers. Americans understand that memorial day or decoration day as my parents called it has something to do with honoring the nation s war dead. In tennessee confederate decoration day is celebrated on june 3 the birthday of jefferson davis. Many cemeteries in the southern united states still have decoration day in may and june.
In texas it is called confederate heroes day and held on january 19 each year. On the first decoration day general james garfield made a speech at arlington national cemetery after which 5 000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20 000 civil war. Decoration day the predecessor of today s memorial day remains a tradition in parts of the rural south for remembering deceased family and church members. Decoration day has been celebrated for hundreds of years in the american south.
Commemoration of the american civil war. Origins of decoration day history of decoration day. Many people visit cemeteries and memorials on memorial day to honor and. In the u s decoration day refers to two things.
The south honors its dead in the south this time of year rural communities gather to clean and decorate their local cemeteries. The holiday is now observed on the last monday of may having been observed on may 30 from 1868 to 1970. As a nation we are at war now but for most americans the scale of death and suffering in this seemingly endless. It s a tradition called decoration day and not.
List of confederate monuments and memorials. The origins of our modern memorial day and a current holiday that is mainly observed in the south. Memorial day previously but now seldom called decoration day is a federal holiday in the united states for honoring and mourning the military personnel who have died while serving in the united states armed forces. Learn about the rituals and traditions of this holiday that may have inspired the modern day observance known as memorial day.
Decorating the graves of loved ones soldiers and the forgotten has been observed for thousands of years all around the globe. Decoration day in the south.