Memorial Day

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the last Monday of May in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country's armed forces. Before this holiday was known as the Decoration Day and originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the war. On Memorial Day, the flag of the United States is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to its half-staff position where it stays until noon. It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day. 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.