APDG ~ Memorial Day - 5/30

Did any of you know that May 30th is Memorial Day? Well of course it is.

Memorial Day gives you the opportunity to .... you guessed it......remember those who died for our freedom.

Memorial Day, as a formal holiday, is an American holiday. It is celebrated to remember military service members who have died in the line of duty. Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, as the holiday was centered on decorating the graves of those who had fallen in the Civil War.

There is much debate as to the location where Memorial Day originated from. Sometime during the late years of the Civil War (1861 – 1865), groups began decorating the graves of their loved ones who had died in battle. Depending on the source, there are perhaps over a dozen locations that claim to be the town where the practice began being observed – the birthplace of Memorial Day. Some of these towns include Columbus, Mississippi; Macon, Georgia; Richmond, Virginia; Boalsburg, Pennsylvania; and Carbondale, Illinois.

There is evidence that the tradition could have started in towns in either the North or the South. VA.gov states that on April 25, 1866, in Columbus, Mississippi, a local group of women went to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers. They noticed barren graves of Union soldiers and decided to place flowers there in remembrance. Another site, usmemorialday.org, states that a hymn published in 1867 called “Kneel Where Our Loved Ones are Sleeping” carried a dedication “To the Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead”. Wikipedia says that by 1865 the practice was already widespread in the North. It is likely that the tradition began in many locations independently, with many variations on the same idea. Over time, as word spread, these traditions could have expanded from town to town.

In 1866, in a town in New York called Waterloo, a drugstore owner named Henry Welles suggested that the town shops close on May 5 to commemorate the soldiers buried at Waterloo Cemetery who had died during the Civil War. Two years later in Waterloo, on May 5, 1868, General John Logan issued a declaration that Decoration Day should be observed nationwide. The declaration said that May 30th would be designated as a day to decorate the graves of “comrades who died in defense of their country.” According to History.com, President James Garfield gave a speech at Arlington National Cemetery on that day. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson and the Congress of the United States stated that Waterloo was the official birthplace of Memorial Day, and the official date of origin was May 30, 1868.

In 1882, the name of the holiday was changed from Decoration Day to Memorial Day. After World War I, the holiday was expanded to remember soldiers from all American Wars. In 1971, Richard Nixon made Memorial Day a national holiday that was to be celebrated on the last Monday in May.

Today Memorial Day is celebrated across the United States. Regardless of where it originated, it is an important holiday that remembers those that died for the country, and serves to remind people of the costly price of war. There are many formal ceremonies that take place in observance. Most of these are held in local communities, and can be found by contacting a local Veterans of Foreign Wars office or local city government agency. A few traditional events are listed below.

Laying of the wreath at Arlington Cemetary – Often, the President of the United States will lay a wreath at Arlington Cemetery on the annual observance of Memorial Day. This will usually be accompanied by a speech.

Remembrance and Moments of Silence – People nationwide participate in parades and still partake in decorating graves with wreaths or flowers. Many people will pause for moments of silence in memoriam.

Movies to watch on Memorial Day:

The Great Escape (1963) – Starring Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Garner

Heartbreak Ridge (1986) – Clint Eastwood

The Dirty Dozen (1967) – Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson

Saving Private Ryan (1998) – Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Paul Giamatti

Memphis Belle (1990) – Sean Astin, Harry Connick Jr.

Platoon (1986) – Charlie Sheen, Willem DaFoe, Tom Berenger

Forrest Gump (1994) – Tom Hanks

Memorial Day is a floating holiday, and always falls on the last Monday of May in the United States.

Next onto our swap:

Post THREE (3) pictures and/or gifs to each of your THREE (3) partner’s profiles with the theme “Memorial Day”. The pictures that you choose may be the SAME OR DIFFERENT between all of your partners. Please choose pictures that you think THEY will enjoy!

Only people with well filled out profiles may participate in this swap. I will be checking the night before partners get assigned.

If you get 3 pictures from your partner on "Memorial Day” you have to rate them a 5. The heart on the rating is for if you like what they sent.

To leave a photo on someone's profile use this code ! [ ] ( Put image address here ) With NO spaces & paste the picture's link between the curved parentheses.

Practice on your own profile first to be sure it looks good because you can easily delete it there.

Pick images that are size 300 wide or smaller to be sure they fit. I go to Google images to get my pictures.

Hover over images to see their size because there will be some larger sizes there too. If you really like something click on it and go to the words SEARCH BY IMAGE and click on that. THEN go to the word SMALL and see if there is one 300 size. There are other tricks in the group thread; AN EASY way to get a small PIC from a BIG one;-)

You can find moving pictures at http://giphy.com/

Please write the TITLE OF THE SWAP ON YOUR PROFILE DECO MESSAGE too! This makes it easier for partners that are in a lot of these swaps to rate it.

Any problems, feel free to contact me.

I want to thank @anrtist for allowing me to borrow SOME of her wording.