is memorial day a holiday in the usa
Memorial Day Memorial Day or Decoration Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country's armed forces.[1] The holiday, which is currently observed every year on the last Monday of May, was held on May 28, 2018. The holiday was held on May 30 from 1868 to 1970.[2] It marks the unofficial start of the summer vacation season,[3] while Labor Day marks its end.
Memorial Day On Memorial Day, the flag of the United States is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon.[52] It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.[53]
Memorial Day In 1868, copying a southern annual observance,[20] General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans founded in Decatur, Illinois, established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the Union war dead with flowers.[21] By the 20th century, various Union and Confederate memorial traditions, celebrated on different days, merged, and Memorial Day eventually extended to honor all Americans who died while in the military service.[1]
Memorial Day The preferred name for the holiday gradually changed from "Decoration Day" to "Memorial Day," which was first used in 1882.[60] Memorial Day did not become the more common name until after World War II, and was not declared the official name by Federal law until 1967.[61] On June 28, 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved four holidays, including Memorial Day, from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend.[62] The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971.[62] After some initial confusion and unwillingness to comply, all 50 states adopted Congress' change of date within a few years.