Memorial Day - wikipedia Memorial Day For other uses, see Memorial Day ( disambiguation ). `` Decoration Day '' redirects here. For other uses, see Decoration Day ( disambiguation ). Memorial Day The gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery are decorated by U.S. flags on Memorial Day weekend in 2008. Official name Memorial Day Observed by United States Type National Observances Remembrance of American war dead Date Last Monday in May 2016 date May 30 ( 2016 - 05 - 30 ) 2017 date May 29 ( 2017 - 05 - 29 ) 2018 date May 28 ( 2018 - 05 - 28 ) 2019 date May 27 ( 2019 - 05 - 27 ) Frequency Annual 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. The holiday, which is currently observed every year on the last Monday of May, was held on May 29, 2017. The holiday was held on May 30 from 1868 to 1970. It marks the start of the unofficial summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end. Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries. Memorial Day is not to be confused with Veterans Day ; Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving, while Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans. Contents 1 History 1.1 In the North 1.2 In the South 1.3 At Gettysburg 2 Name and date 3 20th century 3.1 Poppies 4 As civil religious holiday 5 In film, literature, and music 5.1 Films 5.2 Music 5.3 Poetry 6 Observance dates 1971 -- present 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links History 1870 Decoration Day parade in St. Paul, Minnesota The practice of decorating soldiers ' graves with flowers is an ancient custom. Soldiers ' graves were decorated in the U.S. before and during the American Civil War. Some believe that an annual cemetery decoration practice began before the American Civil War and thus may reflect the real origin of the `` memorial day '' idea. Annual Decoration Days for particular cemeteries are still held on a Sunday in late spring or early summer in some rural areas of the American South, notably in the mountain areas. In cases involving a family graveyard where remote ancestors as well as those who were deceased more recently are buried, this may take on the character of an extended family reunion to which some people travel hundreds of miles. People gather, put flowers on graves and renew contacts with relatives and others. There often is a religious service and a picnic - like `` dinner on the grounds, '' the traditional term for a potluck meal at a church. On June 3, 1861 Warrenton, Virginia was the location of the first Civil War soldier 's grave ever to be decorated, according to a Richmond Times - Dispatch newspaper article in 1906. In 1862 women in Savannah, Georgia decorated Confederate soldiers ' graves oer the Savannah Republican. The 1863 cemetery dedication at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was a ceremony of commemoration at the graves of dead soldiers. On July 4, 1864, ladies decorated soldiers ' graves according to local historians in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania. and Boalsburg promotes itself as the birthplace of Memorial Day. In April 1865, following President Abraham Lincoln 's assassination, commemorations were ubiquitous. The more than 600,000 soldiers of both sides who died in the Civil War meant that burial and memorialization took on new cultural significance. Under the leadership of women during the war, an increasingly formal practice of decorating graves had taken shape. In 1865, the federal government began creating national military cemeteries for the Union war dead. A decoration day observance on May 1, 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina led historian David W. Blight to claim that `` African Americans invented Memorial Day in Charleston, South Carolina '', based on accounts in the Charleston Daily Courier and coverage by the New York Tribune. In 2012 Blight stated that he `` has no evidence '' that the event in Charleston inspired the establishment of Memorial Day across the country. Accordingly, Snopes labeled the claim that the holiday began in Charleston `` false. '' In 1868, 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. 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. On May 26, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson designated an `` official '' birthplace of the holiday by signing the presidential proclamation naming Waterloo, New York, as the holder of the title. This action followed House Concurrent Resolution 587, in which the 89th Congress had officially recognized that the patriotic tradition of observing Memorial Day had begun one hundred years prior in Waterloo, New York. The village credits druggist Henry C. Welles and county clerk John B. Murray as the founders of the holiday. Snopes and Live Science discredit the Waterloo account. In the North The Tomb of the Unknowns located in Arlington National Cemetery On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan issued a proclamation calling for `` Decoration Day '' to be observed annually and nationwide ; he was commander - in - chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, the veterans ' organization for Union Civil War veterans. With his proclamation, Logan adopted the Memorial Day practice that had begun in the Southern states three years earlier. The first northern Memorial Day was observed on May 30, 1868. One author claims that the date was chosen because it was not the anniversary of any particular battle. According to a White House address in 2010, the date was chosen as the optimal date for flowers to be in bloom in the North. Memorial Day, Boston by Henry Sandham The northern states quickly adopted the holiday. In 1868, memorial events were held in 183 cemeteries in 27 states, and 336 in 1869. In 1871 Michigan made `` Decoration Day '' an official state holiday and by 1890, every northern state had followed suit. The ceremonies were sponsored by the Women 's Relief Corps, the women 's auxiliary of the Grand Army of the Republic ( GAR ), which had 100,000 members. By 1870, the remains of nearly 300,000 Union dead had been reinterred in 73 national cemeteries, located near major battlefields and thus mainly in the South. The most famous are Gettysburg National Cemetery in Pennsylvania and Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. Memorial Day speeches became an occasion for veterans, politicians, and ministers to commemorate the Civil War and, at first, to rehash the `` atrocities '' of the enemy. They mixed religion and celebratory nationalism for the people to make sense of their history in terms of sacrifice for a better nation. People of all religious beliefs joined together and the point was often made that the German and Irish soldiers had become true Americans in the `` baptism of blood '' on the battlefield. Since 1868 Doylestown, Pennsylvania has run annual Memorial Day parades which it claims to be the nation 's oldest continuously running ; however, the Memorial Day parade in Rochester, Wisconsin predates Doylestown 's by one year. In the South Confederate Memorial Monument in Montgomery, Alabama The U.S. National Park Service and numerous scholars attribute the beginning of a Memorial Day practice in the South to the ladies of Columbus, Georgia. On April 25, 1866, women in Columbus, Mississippi laid flowers on the graves of both the Union and Confederate dead in the city 's cemetery. The early southern Memorial Day celebrations were simple, somber occasions for veterans and their families to honor the dead and tend to local cemeteries. Historians acknowledge the Ladies Memorial Association played a key role in these rituals of preservation of Confederate `` memory. '' Various dates ranging from April 25 to mid-June were adopted in different Southern states. Across the South, associations were founded, many by women, to establish and care for permanent cemeteries for the Confederate dead, organize commemorative ceremonies, and sponsor appropriate monuments as a permanent way of remembering the Confederate dead. The most important of these was the United Daughters of the Confederacy, which grew from 17,000 members in 1900 to nearly 100,000 women by World War I. They were `` strikingly successful at raising money to build Confederate monuments, lobbying legislatures and Congress for the reburial of Confederate dead, and working to shape the content of history textbooks. '' In 1868, some southerners appended the label `` Confederate '' to what they originally called `` Memorial Day '' after northerners co-opted the holiday. The tradition of observances were linked to the South, they served as the prototype for the national day of memory embraced by the nation in 1868. By 1890, there was a shift from the emphasis on honoring specific soldiers to a public commemoration of the Confederate south. Changes in the ceremony 's hymns and speeches reflect an evolution of the ritual into a symbol of cultural renewal and conservatism in the South. By 1913, David Blight argues, the theme of American nationalism shared equal time with the Confederate. At Gettysburg Soldiers National Monument at the center of Gettysburg National Cemetery Starting in 1868, the ceremonies and Memorial Day address at Gettysburg National Park became nationally known. In July 1913, veterans of the United States and Confederate armies gathered in Gettysburg to commemorate the fifty - year anniversary of the Civil War 's bloodiest and most famous battle. The four - day `` Blue - Gray Reunion '' featured parades, re-enactments, and speeches from a host of dignitaries, including President Woodrow Wilson, the first Southerner elected to the White House after the War. James Heflin of Alabama gave the main address. Heflin was a noted orator ; His choice as Memorial Day speaker was criticized, as he was opposed for his support of segregation ; however, his speech was moderate in tone and stressed national unity and goodwill, gaining him praise from newspapers. Since the cemetery dedication at Gettysburg occurred on November 19, that day ( or the closest weekend ) has been designated as their own local memorial day that is referred to as Remembrance Day. Name and date `` On Decoration Day '' Political cartoon c 1900 by John T. McCutcheon. Caption : `` You bet I 'm goin ' to be a soldier, too, like my Uncle David, when I grow up. '' The preferred name for the holiday gradually changed from `` Decoration Day '' to `` Memorial Day, '' which was first used in 1882. 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. 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. 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. After some initial confusion and unwillingness to comply, all 50 states adopted Congress ' change of date within a few years. Memorial Day endures as a holiday which most businesses observe because it marks the unofficial beginning of summer. The Veterans of Foreign Wars ( VFW ) and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War ( SUVCW ) advocate returning to the original date, although the significance of the date is tenuous. The VFW stated in a 2002 Memorial Day Address : Changing the date merely to create three - day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed a lot to the general public 's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day. Starting in 1987 Hawaii 's Senator Daniel Inouye, a World War II veteran, introduced a measure to return Memorial Day to its traditional date. Inouye continued introducing the resolution until his death in 2012. 20th century 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. It is then raised to full - staff for the remainder of the day. Memorial Day observances in small New England towns are often marked by dedications and remarks by veterans, state legislators, and selectmen. The half - staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of their country. At noon, their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all. The National Memorial Day Concert takes place on the west lawn of the United States Capitol. The concert is broadcast on PBS and NPR. Music is performed, and respect is paid to the men and women who gave their lives for their country. For many Americans, the central event is attending one of the thousands of parades held on Memorial Day in large and small cities all over the country. Most of these feature marching bands and an overall military theme with the National Guard and other servicemen participating along with veterans and military vehicles from various wars. One of the longest - standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, an auto race which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911. It runs on the Sunday preceding the Memorial Day holiday. Since 1961 NASCAR 's Coca - Cola 600 has been held the same day. Since 1976 The Memorial Tournament golf event has been held on or close to the Memorial Day weekend. The final of the NCAA Division I Men 's Lacrosse Championship is held on Memorial Day. In 2000, Congress passed the National Moment of Remembrance Act, asking people to stop and remember at 3 : 00 P.M. Poppies Main article : Remembrance poppy In 1915, following the Second Battle of Ypres, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a physician with the Canadian Expeditionary Force, wrote the poem, `` In Flanders Fields ''. Its opening lines refer to the fields of poppies that grew among the soldiers ' graves in Flanders. In 1918, inspired by the poem, YWCA worker Moina Michael attended a YWCA Overseas War Secretaries ' conference wearing a silk poppy pinned to her coat and distributed over two dozen more to others present. In 1920, the National American Legion adopted it as their official symbol of remembrance. As Civil religious holiday Scholars, following the lead of sociologist Robert Bellah, often make the argument that the United States has a secular `` civil religion '' -- one with no association with any religious denomination or viewpoint -- that has incorporated Memorial Day as a sacred event. With the Civil War, a new theme of death, sacrifice and rebirth enters the civil religion. Memorial Day gave ritual expression to these themes, integrating the local community into a sense of nationalism. The American civil religion, in contrast to that of France, was never anticlerical or militantly secular ; in contrast to Britain, it was not tied to a specific denomination, such as the Church of England. The Americans borrowed from different religious traditions so that the average American saw no conflict between the two, and deep levels of personal motivation were aligned with attaining national goals. Memorial Day has been called a `` modern cult of the dead ''. It incorporates Christian themes of sacrifice while uniting citizens of various faiths. In film, literature, and music Films Memorial Day ( 2012 ) is a war film starring James Cromwell, Jonathan Bennett, and John Cromwell. Music Charles Ives 's symphonic poem Decoration Day depicted the holiday as he experienced it in his childhood, with his father 's band leading the way to the town cemetery, the playing of `` Taps '' on a trumpet, and a livelier march tune on the way back to the town. It is frequently played with three other Ives works based on holidays, as the second movement of A Symphony : New England Holidays. Poetry Poems commemorating Memorial Day include : `` Memorial Day '' by Michael Anania ( 1994 ) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 's `` Decoration Day '' ( 1882 ) Joyce Kilmer 's `` Memorial Day '' Observance dates 1971 -- present Year Memorial Day 1972 2000 2028 2056 2084 May 29 1973 2029 2057 2085 May 28 2002 2030 2058 2086 May 27 2003 2031 2059 2087 May 26 1976 2032 2060 2088 May 31 1977 2005 2033 2061 2089 May 30 1978 2006 2034 2062 2090 May 29 1979 2007 2035 2063 2091 May 28 1980 2008 2036 2064 2092 May 26 1981 2009 2037 2065 2093 May 25 1982 2038 2066 2094 May 31 2011 2039 2067 2095 May 30 1984 2012 2040 2068 2096 May 28 1985 2013 2041 2069 2097 May 27 1986 2014 2042 2070 2098 May 26 2015 2043 2071 2099 May 25 2016 2044 2072 May 30 2017 2045 2073 May 29 2018 2046 2074 May 28 1991 2019 2047 2075 May 27 2020 2048 2076 May 25 2021 2049 2077 May 31 2022 2050 2078 May 30 1995 2023 2051 2079 May 29 2024 2052 2080 May 27 2025 2053 2081 May 26 1998 2026 2054 2082 May 25 1971 1999 2027 2055 2083 2100 May 31 See also Military of the United States portal Holidays portal A Great Jubilee Day, first held the last Monday in May 1783 ( Revolutionary War ) ANZAC Day, an analogous observance in Australia and New Zealand on April 25 every year Armistice Day Confederate Memorial Day Dodenherdenking ( `` Remembrance of the dead '' ), every year on May 4, commemorates all civilians and members of the armed forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands who have died in wars or peacekeeping missions since the outbreak of World War II. Heroes ' Day Memorial Day massacre of 1937 Nora Fontaine Davidson, credited with the first Memorial Day ceremony in Petersburg, Virginia Patriot Day Rudolf Anderson United States military casualties of war Remembrance Day, an analogous observance in Canada, the United Kingdom, and many other Commonwealth nations held on November 11 each year Veterans Day Volkstrauertag ( `` People 's Mourning Day '' ), usually in November two Sundays ahead of 1. Advent, inaugurated in Germany in 1919 by the Weimar Republic, the German version of Memorial Day celebrated in the Weimar Republic and since 1949 in West Germany, a holiday with democratic context strictly different from the Imperial and Nazi - Era `` Heldengedenktag '', usually with a special event including the President in Bundestag References ^ Jump up to : `` Memorial Day ''. United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved May 28, 2010. Jump up ^ 36 U.S.C. § 116 Jump up ^ Yan, Holly. `` Memorial Day 2016 : What you need to know ''. CNN. Retrieved 31 May 2016. Jump up ^ Kickler, Sarah ( May 28, 2012 ). `` Memorial Day vs. Veterans Day ''. baltimoresun.com. Retrieved April 7, 2014. Jump up ^ Mary L'Hommedieu Gardiner ( 1842 ). `` The Ladies Garland ''. J. Libby. p. 296. Retrieved May 31, 2014. Jump up ^ In 1817, for example, a writer in the Analectic Magazine of Philadelphia urged the decoration of patriot 's graves. E.J., `` The Soldier 's Grave, '' in The Analectic Magazine ( 1817 ), Vol. 10, 264. ^ Jump up to : Alan Jabbour ; Karen Singer Jabbour ( May 31, 2010 ). Decoration Day in the Mountains : Traditions of Cemetery Decoration in the Southern Appalachians. Univ of North Carolina Press. p. 125. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8078 - 3397 - 1. Retrieved May 28, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Times - Dispatch, 1906 ''. Perseus.tufts.edu. July 15, 1906. Retrieved April 7, 2014. Jump up ^ `` '' A Beautiful Tribute ``, July 21, 1862 ''... uttyler.edu. Retrieved May 28, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Sophie Keller Hall, in The Story of Our Regiment : A History of the 148th Pennsylvania Vols., ed. J.W. Muffly ( Des Moines : The Kenyon Printing & Mfg. Co., 1904 ), quoted in editor 's note, p. 45 ''. Civilwarcenter.olemiss.edu. Retrieved May 28, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Boalsburg.com ''. Boalsburg.com. March 26, 1997. Retrieved May 28, 2012. Jump up ^ Joan Waugh ; Gary W. Gallagher ( June 1, 2009 ). Wars Within a War : Controversy and Conflict Over the American Civil War. Univ of North Carolina Press. p. 187. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8078 - 3275 - 2. Jump up ^ Blight, David W. `` Lecture : To Appomattox and Beyond : The End of the War and a Search for Meanings, Overview ''. Oyc.yale.edu. Retrieved May 31, 2014. Professor Blight closes his lecture with a description of the first Memorial Day, celebrated by African Americans in Charleston, SC 1865. Jump up ^ David Blight, cited by Campbell Robertson, `` Birthplace of Memorial Day ? That Depends Where You 're From, '' New York Times, May 28, 2012 -- Blight quote from 2nd web page : `` He has called that the first Memorial Day, as it predated most of the other contenders, though he said he has no evidence that it led to General Logan 's call for a national holiday. '' Jump up ^ Snopes Snopes.com, not dated Jump up ^ Affairs, Office of Public and Intergovernmental. `` Memorial Day History -- Office of Public Affairs ''. va.gov. Jump up ^ Johnson, Lyndon. `` Presidential Proclamation 3727 ''. Retrieved May 27, 2013. Jump up ^ Snopes : Memorial Day Origins Snopes.com, not dated Jump up ^ The True Story Behind the First Memorial Day livescience.com, n.d. Jump up ^ General John Logan, quoted by his wife. Books.google.com. Retrieved April 7, 2014. Jump up ^ `` A Complicated Journey : The Story of Logan and Memorial Day '' Tom English, The Southern Illinoisian, May 22, 2015 Jump up ^ `` Memorial Day 's Roots Traced To Georgia '' Michael Jones, Northwest Herald, May 23, 2015. Jump up ^ Hennig Cohen ; Tristram Potter Coffin ( 1991 ). The Folklore of American holidays. Gale Research. p. 215. Jump up ^ `` Barack Obama, Weekly Address, May 29, 2010, transcript ''. Whitehouse.gov. May 29, 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2014. Jump up ^ Blight ( 2004 ), pp. 99 -- 100 Jump up ^ `` Interments in Department of Veterans Affairs ( VA ) National Cemeteries '' ( PDF ). Washington, DC : National Cemetery Administration -- Department of Veterans Affairs VA - NCA - IS - 1. January 2011. After the Civil War, search and recovery teams visited hundreds of battlefields, churchyards, plantations and other locations seeking wartime interments that were made in haste. By 1870, the remains of nearly 300,000 Civil War dead were reinterred in 73 national cemeteries. Jump up ^ Samito, Christian G. ( 2009 ). Becoming American Under Fire : Irish Americans, African Americans, and the Politics of Citizenship During the Civil War Era. Cornell University Press. p. 126. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8014 - 4846 - 1. Retrieved May 25, 2014. Jump up ^ aaron.knapp@journaltimes.com, AARON KNAPP. `` Rochester commemorates fallen soldiers in 150th Memorial Day parade ''. Journal Times. Retrieved 2017 - 06 - 01. Jump up ^ says, Lisa. `` Doylestown Hosts Oldest Memorial Day Parade In The Country ''. Retrieved 2017 - 06 - 01. ^ Jump up to : National Park Service, `` Flowers For Jennie '' Retrieved February 24, 2015 Jump up ^ Daniel Bellware and Richard Gardiner, The Genesis of the Memorial Day Holiday in America ( Columbus State University, 2014 ). Jump up ^ Gary Gallagher, The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History, p. 190 Jump up ^ Kristina Dunn Johnson, No Holier Spot of Ground, p. 33 Jump up ^ Michael Kammen ( Pulitzer Prize Winner ), Mystic Chords of Memory, New York, Knopf 1991, 103. Jump up ^ Tom English, `` A Complicated Journey, '' The Southern Illinoisian, May 22, 2015. Jump up ^ Mrs. Logan 's Memoirs, p. 246. Books.google.com. Retrieved April 7, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Birthplace of Memorial Day ? That Depends Where You 're From ''. The New York Times. May 27, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Did You Know ? Little known Mississippi Facts ''. US Genealogy Network. Retrieved May 28, 2010. ^ Jump up to : University of Michigan ; EBSCO Publishing ( Firm ) ( 2000 ). America, history and life. Clio Press. p. 190. Jump up ^ Karen L. Cox ( 2003 ). Dixie 's Daughters : The United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Preservation of Confederate Culture. Universbuttse Memorial Day. Jump up ^ Blight ( 2001 ), Race and Reunion, pp. 272 -- 273 Jump up ^ Gardiner and Bellware, p. 87 Jump up ^ Lucian Lamar Knight, `` Memorial Day : Its True History ''. Books.google.com. Retrieved May 28, 2012. Jump up ^ David W. Blight ( 2001 ). Race and Reunion : The Civil War in American Memory. Harvard U.P. p. 265. Jump up ^ Warren Leon ; Roy Rosenzweig ( June 1, 1989 ). History Museums in the United States : A Critical Assessment. University of Illinois Press. p. 140. ISBN 978 - 0 - 252 - 06064 - 9. Jump up ^ Glenn W. LaFantasie ( March 1, 2008 ). Gettysburg Heroes : Perfect Soldiers, Hallowed Ground. Indiana University Press. p. 46. ISBN 978 - 0 - 253 - 35071 - 8. Jump up ^ Henry Perkins Goddard ; Calvin Goddard Zon ( 2008 ). The Good Fight That Did n't End : Henry P. Goddard 's Accounts of Civil War and Peace. Univ of South Carolina Press. p. 285. ISBN 978 - 1 - 57003 - 772 - 6. Jump up ^ Alan Axelrod ( June 1, 2007 ). Miracle at Belleau Wood : The Birth of the Modern U.S. Marine Corps. Globe Pequot. p. 233. ISBN 978 - 1 - 59921 - 025 - 4. ^ Jump up to : `` Public Law 90 - 363 ''. Retrieved April 7, 2014. Jump up ^ Mechant, David ( April 28, 2007 ). `` Memorial Day History ''. Retrieved May 28, 2010. Jump up ^ E.g., 112th Congress ( 2011 -- 2012 ), S. 70 Jump up ^ Peggy Post ; Anna Post ; Lizzie Post ; Daniel Post Senning ( November 15, 2011 ). Emily Post 's Etiquette, 18. HarperCollins. p. 165. ISBN 978 - 0 - 06 - 210127 - 3. Jump up ^ Congress ( October 22, 2009 ). United States Code, 2006, Supplement 1, January 4, 2007, to January 8, 2008. Government Printing Office. p. 39. ISBN 978 - 0 - 16 - 083512 - 4. Jump up ^ Kevin J. Carnahan ( May 1, 2004 ). Outdoor Escapes Washington, D.C. : A Four - Season Guide. Globe Pequot. p. 167. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7627 - 3056 - 8. Jump up ^ Alan Wilson ( October 1, 2011 ). Driven by Desire : The Desire Wilson Story. Veloce Publishing Ltd. p. 92. ISBN 978 - 1 - 84584 - 389 - 2. Jump up ^ Scott, Ryan ( May 24, 2015 ). `` Memorial Day, 3 p.m. : Do n't Forget ''. Forbes. Retrieved June 2, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Where did the idea to sell poppies come from ? ''. BBC News. November 10, 2006. Retrieved February 18, 2009. Jump up ^ William H. Swatos ; Peter Kivisto ( 1998 ). Encyclopedia of Religion and Society. Rowman Altamira. pp. 49 -- 50. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7619 - 8956 - 1. Jump up ^ Marcela Cristi ( 2001 ). From Civil to Political Religion : The Intersection of Culture, Religion and Politics. Wilfrid Laurier U.P. pp. 48 -- 53. ISBN 978 - 0 - 88920 - 368 - 6. Jump up ^ William M. Epstein ( 2002 ). American Policy Making : Welfare As Ritual. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 99. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7425 - 1733 - 2. Jump up ^ Corwin E. Smidt ; Lyman A. Kellstedt ; James L. Guth ( 2009 ). The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Politics. Oxford Handbooks Online. pp. 142 -- 3. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 532652 - 9. Jump up ^ Robert N. Bellah, `` Civil Religion in America '', Daedalus 1967 96 ( 1 ) : 1 -- 21. Jump up ^ Cherry, Conrad ( 2014 - 02 - 01 ). God 's New Israel. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8078 - 6658 - 0. Jump up ^ Anania, Michael ( 1994 ). `` Memorial Day ''. PoetryFoundation. Jump up ^ Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. `` Memorial Day ''. The Atlantic. Further reading Albanese, Catherine. `` Requiem for Memorial Day : Dissent in the Redeemer Nation '', American Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 4 ( Oct. 1974 ), pp. 386 -- 398 in JSTOR Bellah, Robert N. `` Civil Religion in America ''. Daedalus 1967 96 ( 1 ) : 1 -- 21. online edition Bellware, Daniel, and Richard Gardiner, The Genesis of the Memorial Day Holiday in America ( Columbus State University, 2014 ). Blight, David W. `` Decoration Day : The Origins of Memorial Day in North and South '' in Alice Fahs and Joan Waugh, eds. The Memory of the Civil War in American Culture ( 2004 ), online edition pp 94 -- 129 ; the standard scholarly history Blight, David W. Race and Reunion : The Civil War in American Memory ( 2000 ) ch. 3, `` Decorations '' excerpt and text search Buck, Paul H. The Road to Reunion, 1865 -- 1900 ( 1937 ) Cherry, Conrad. `` Two American Sacred Ceremonies : Their Implications for the Study of Religion in America '', American Quarterly, Vol. 21, No. 4 ( Winter, 1969 ), pp. 739 -- 754 in JSTOR Dennis, Matthew. Red, White, and Blue Letter Days : An American Calendar ( 2002 ) Jabbour, Alan, and Karen Singer Jabbour. Decoration Day in the Mountains : Traditions of Cemetery Decoration in the Southern Appalachians ( University of North Carolina Press ; 2010 ) Myers, Robert J. `` Memorial Day ''. Chapter 24 in Celebrations : The Complete Book of American Holidays. ( 1972 ) Robert Haven Schauffler ( 1911 ). Memorial Day : Its Celebration, Spirit, and Significance as Related in Prose and Verse, with a Non-sectional Anthology of the Civil W. BiblioBazaar reprint 2010. External links Look up Memorial Day in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Memorial Day. 36 USC 116. Memorial Day ( designation law ) United States Department of Veterans Affairs In Memory of Our Honored Dead, US Memorial Day National Moment of Remembrance Home Page National Memorial Day Museum website National Memorial Day Concert site The History of Memorial Day Federal holidays in the United States Current New Year 's Day Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. Washington 's Birthday Memorial Day Independence Day Labor Day Columbus Day Veterans Day Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day Former The Eighth ( 1828 -- 1861 ) Victory Day ( 1948 -- 1975 ) Proposed Flag Day ( 1950 ) Election Day ( 1993 ) Malcolm X Day ( 1993 -- 1994 ) Democracy Day ( 2005, 2014 ) Cesar Chavez Day ( 2008 ) Susan B. Anthony Day ( 2011 ) Native American Day ( 2013 ) Holidays, observances, and celebrations in the United States January New Year 's Day ( federal ) Martin Luther King Jr. Day ( federal ) Confederate Heroes Day ( TX ) Fred Korematsu Day ( CA, FL, HI, VA ) Idaho Human Rights Day ( ID ) Inauguration Day ( federal quadrennial, DC area ) Kansas Day ( KS ) Lee -- Jackson Day ( formerly Lee -- Jackson -- King Day ) ( VA ) Robert E. Lee Day ( FL, GA ) Stephen Foster Memorial Day ( 36 ) The Eighth ( LA, former federal ) January -- February Super Bowl Sunday February American Heart Month Black History Month Washington 's Birthday / Presidents ' Day ( federal ) Valentine 's Day Georgia Day ( GA ) Groundhog Day Lincoln 's Birthday ( CA, CT, IL, IN, MO, NJ, NY, WV ) National Girls and Women in Sports Day National Freedom Day ( 36 ) Primary Election Day ( WI ) Ronald Reagan Day ( CA ) Rosa Parks Day ( CA, MO ) Susan B. Anthony Day ( CA, FL, NY, WI, WV, proposed federal ) February -- March Mardi Gras Ash Wednesday ( religious ) Courir de Mardi Gras ( religious ) Super Tuesday March Irish - American Heritage Month National Colon Cancer Awareness Month Women 's History Month St. Patrick 's Day ( religious ) Spring break ( week ) Casimir Pulaski Day ( IL ) Cesar Chavez Day ( CA, CO, TX, proposed federal ) Evacuation Day ( Suffolk County, MA ) Harriet Tubman Day ( NY ) Holi ( NY, religious ) Mardi Gras ( AL ( in two counties ), LA ) Maryland Day ( MD ) National Poison Prevention Week ( week ) Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole Day ( HI ) Saint Joseph 's Day ( religious ) Seward 's Day ( AK ) Texas Independence Day ( TX ) Town Meeting Day ( VT ) March -- April Easter ( religious ) Palm Sunday ( religious ) Passover ( religious ) Good Friday ( CT, NC, PR, religious ) Easter Monday ( religious ) April Confederate History Month 420 Day April Fools ' Day Arbor Day Confederate Memorial Day ( AL, FL, MS, SC ) Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust ( week ) Earth Day Emancipation Day ( DC ) Thomas Jefferson 's Birthday ( AL ) Pascua Florida ( FL ) Patriots ' Day ( MA, ME ) San Jacinto Day ( TX ) Siblings Day Walpurgis Night ( religious ) May Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Jewish American Heritage Month Memorial Day ( federal ) Mother 's Day ( 36 ) Cinco de Mayo Harvey Milk Day ( CA ) Law Day ( 36 ) Loyalty Day ( 36 ) Malcolm X Day ( CA, IL, proposed federal ) May Day Military Spouse Day National Day of Prayer ( 36 ) National Defense Transportation Day ( 36 ) National Maritime Day ( 36 ) Peace Officers Memorial Day ( 36 ) Truman Day ( MO ) June Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month Father 's Day ( 36 ) Bunker Hill Day ( Suffolk County, MA ) Carolina Day ( SC ) Emancipation Day In Texas / Juneteenth ( TX ) Flag Day ( 36, proposed federal ) Helen Keller Day ( PA ) Honor America Days ( 3 weeks ) Jefferson Davis Day ( AL, FL ) Kamehameha Day ( HI ) Odunde Festival ( Philadelphia, PA ) Senior Week ( week ) West Virginia Day ( WV ) July Independence Day ( federal ) Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea ( HI, unofficial ) Parents ' Day ( 36 ) Pioneer Day ( UT ) July -- August Summer vacation August American Family Day ( AZ ) Barack Obama Day ( IL ) Bennington Battle Day ( VT ) Hawaii Admission Day / Statehood Day ( HI ) Lyndon Baines Johnson Day ( TX ) National Aviation Day ( 36 ) Service Reduction Day ( MD ) Victory over Japan Day ( RI, former federal ) Women 's Equality Day ( 36 ) September Prostate Cancer Awareness Month Labor Day ( federal ) California Admission Day ( CA ) Carl Garner Federal Lands Cleanup Day ( 36 ) Constitution Day ( 36 ) Constitution Week ( week ) Defenders Day ( MD ) Gold Star Mother 's Day ( 36 ) National Grandparents Day ( 36 ) National Payroll Week ( week ) Native American Day ( CA, TN, proposed federal ) Patriot Day ( 36 ) September -- October Hispanic Heritage Month Oktoberfest Rosh Hashanah ( religious ) Yom Kippur ( religious ) October Breast Cancer Awareness Month Disability Employment Awareness Month Filipino American History Month LGBT History Month Columbus Day ( federal ) Halloween Alaska Day ( AK ) Child Health Day ( 36 ) General Pulaski Memorial Day German - American Day Indigenous Peoples ' Day ( VT ) International Day of Non-Violence Leif Erikson Day ( 36 ) Missouri Day ( MO ) National School Lunch Week Native American Day ( SD ) Nevada Day ( NV ) Sweetest Day White Cane Safety Day ( 36 ) October -- November Diwali ( religious ) November Native American Indian Heritage Month Veterans Day ( federal ) Thanksgiving ( federal ) Day after Thanksgiving ( 24 ) Election Day ( CA, DE, HI, KY, MT, NJ, NY, OH, PR, WV, proposed federal ) Family Day ( NV ) Hanukkah ( religious ) Lā Kūʻokoʻa ( HI, unofficial ) Native American Heritage Day ( MD, WA ) Obama Day ( Perry County, AL ) December Christmas ( religious, federal ) Alabama Day ( AL ) Christmas Eve ( KY, NC, SC ) Day after Christmas ( KY, NC, SC, TX ) Festivus Hanukkah ( religious, week ) Indiana Day ( IN ) Kwanzaa ( religious, week ) National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ( 36 ) New Year 's Eve Pan American Aviation Day ( 36 ) Rosa Parks Day ( OH, OR ) Wright Brothers Day ( 36 ) Varies ( year round ) Eid al - Adha ( religious ) Eid al - Fitr ( religious ) Ramadan ( religious, month ) Legend : ( federal ) = federal holidays, ( state ) = state holidays, ( religious ) = religious holidays, ( week ) = weeklong holidays, ( month ) = monthlong holidays, ( 36 ) = Title 36 Observances and Ceremonies Bold indicates major holidays commonly celebrated in the United States, which often represent the major celebrations of the month. See also : Lists of holidays, Hallmark holidays, public holidays in the United States, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. Official holidays of the New York Stock Exchange Whole days New Year 's Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day Washington 's Birthday Good Friday Memorial Day Independence Day Labor Day Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day Partial days Day before Independence Day Day after Thanksgiving Christmas Eve Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Memorial_Day&oldid=801008062 '' Categories : Public holidays in the United States May observances Observances honoring victims of war Federal holidays in the United States Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from May 2016 Holidays and observances by scheduling ( nth weekday of the month ) Infobox holiday with missing field Infobox holiday ( other ) All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from May 2017 All articles with vague or ambiguous time Vague or ambiguous time from May 2017 All articles with specifically marked weasel - worded phrases Articles with specifically marked weasel - worded phrases from May 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Български Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Español Esperanto فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Magyar Malti Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska தமிழ் Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt ייִדיש 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 17 September 2017, at 03 : 09. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when did memorial day become a national holiday
Answer: 1971