Memorial Day Welcomes Summer

Memorial Day is celebrated the last Monday in May, it is the holiday set aside to pay tribute to those who died serving in the military.  According to my research three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.

Beyond that Memorial Day also signifies that start of summer to me. I like to get the backyard and pool ready to spend time with the family. That is when summer officially begins to me.

What are your plans for Memorial Day? Do you have any traditions?