About Memorial Day
Memorial Day falls on the last Monday of May in the United States and honours the men and women who have died in military service. Its origins trace to the years after the Civil War, when communities North and South began decorating the graves of soldiers with flowers each spring; the unofficial term was Decoration Day. The first national observance was held in 1868 at Arlington National Cemetery, organised by a Union veterans' group. Congress formally established it as a federal holiday on the last Monday of May with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968, taking effect in 1971 — partly to create a reliable three-day weekend. For many Americans the day functions as the unofficial start of summer: the opening of pools, beaches and outdoor grilling season.
The morning typically belongs to ceremonies of remembrance: parades through downtown streets, wreath-layings at war memorials, and the National Memorial Day Concert from the West Lawn of the United States Capitol on the evening before. At 3 pm local time, the National Moment of Remembrance asks Americans to pause for a minute of silence. Flags fly at half-staff until noon, then rise to full-staff. Volunteers place flags at every grave in many national cemeteries — most notably Flags-In at Arlington, where a Marine places a small flag at each of more than 250,000 graves. After the morning observances, the day shifts to the unofficial start of summer: cookouts, the Indianapolis 500, beach trips and the kickoff of the outdoor pool season.