be thankful ~ Memorial Day ... thanks to wikipedia for this ~ 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. be safe ~ more coming next week ... ~ Carolyn < Part 8 Part 1 > The Art Loft Gallery, LTD., a locally owned and operated business in Collinsville, Illinois, has been open since 1984. In addition to offering cust

take a moment, please ~ things you may not have known about Memorial Day ... 8. Memorial Day traditions have evolved over the years. Despite the increasing celebration of the holiday as a summer rite of passage, there are some formal rituals still on the books: The American flag should be hung at half-staff until noon on Memorial Day, then raised to the top of the staff. And since 2000, when the U.S. Congress passed legislation, all Americans are encouraged to pause for a Nat

more specifically Carbondale ~ things you may not have known about Memorial Day ... 7. More than 20 towns claim to be the holiday’s “birthplace”—but only one has federal recognition. For almost as long as there’s been a holiday, there’s been a rivalry about who celebrated it first. Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, bases its claim on an 1864 gathering of women to mourn those recently killed at Gettysburg. In Carbondale, Illinois, they’re certain that they were first, thanks to an 1866

as we remember it ~ things you may not have known about Memorial Day ... 6. It was a long road from Decoration Day to an official Memorial Day. Although the term Memorial Day was used beginning in the 1880s, the holiday was officially known as Decoration Day for more than a century, when it was changed by federal law. Four years later, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968 finally went into effect, moving Memorial Day from its traditional observance on May 30 (regardless of

something Congress passed via the National Holiday Act of 1971 ~ things you may not have known about Memorial Day ... 5. It didn’t become a federal holiday until 1971. American’s embraced the notion of “Decoration Day” immediately. That first year, more than 27 states held some sort of ceremony, with more than 5,000 people in attendance at a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. By 1890, every former state of the Union had adopted it as an official holiday. But for more th

the South not to be forgotten ~ things you may not have known about Memorial Day ... 4. Logan probably adapted the idea from earlier events in the South. Even before the war ended, women’s groups across much of the South were gathering informally to decorate the graves of Confederate dead. In April 1886, the Ladies Memorial Association of Columbus, Georgia resolved to commemorate the fallen once a year—a decision that seems to have influenced John Logan to follow suit, accord

another little known tidbit ~ things you may not have known about Memorial Day ... 3. The holiday’s “founder” had a long and distinguished career. In May 1868, General John A. Logan, the commander-in-chief of the Union veterans’ group known as the Grand Army of the Republic, issued a decree that May 30 should become a nationwide day of commemoration for the more than 620,000 soldiers killed in the recently ended Civil War. On Decoration Day, as Logan dubbed it, Americans shou

continue I must ~ things you may not have known about Memorial Day ... 2. One of the earliest commemorations was organized by recently freed slaves As the Civil War neared its end, thousands of Union soldiers, held as prisoners of war, were herded into a series of hastily assembled camps in Charleston, South Carolina. Conditions at one camp, a former racetrack near the city’s Citadel, were so bad that more than 250 prisoners died from disease or exposure, and were buried in a

things you may not have known about Memorial Day ~ must admit, I didn't know, but thanks to History.com I shall bestow, so now I do and share with you ... For nearly 150 years, Americans have gathered in late spring to honor the sacrifice of those who have given their lives in service to their country. What began with dozens of informal commemorations of those killed in the Civil War has grown to become one of the nation’s most solemn and hallowed holidays. From its earliest

just a matter of days until Memorial Day ~ so I did a bit of research, have found some fascinating information to share, from a website dedicated to Memorial Day ... enjoy the read ~ History Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. Over two dozen cities and towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Da