When was Memorial Day first celebrated?
Memorial
day was first celebrated on May 30, 1868. Observed by placing
flowers on graves of Union & Confederate soldiers during the first
national celebration. General James Garfield gave a speech at Arlington
National Cemetery. Following the speech, around 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate
soldiers buried there.
Why is Memorial Day celebrated on May 30?
Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. This date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.
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