Thy warfare o'er, Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking, Dream of battled fields no more. Days of danger, nights of waking. We give thanks on Memorial Day that we live in a free nation and honor those who gave their lives for that blessing. Memorial Day is also called Decoration Day. Since World War I, it has also been called Poppy Day.
Volunteers sell small, red artificial flowers as a fund-raiser for disabled veterans.
The location of the first observance of Memorial Day is in dispute. Some claim the custom of honoring war dead began in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania. Others claim the custom was originated by some Southern women who placed flowers on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers after the Civil War. The school superintendent and the mayor planned the program of hymns and speeches and had the burial ground decorated with flowers. In 1966, however, the U.S. government proclaimed that Waterloo, New York, was the birthplace of Memorial Day.