Holiday Helps

Memorial Day

If you are looking for some resources to help your family celebrate Memorial Day this year, we can help! Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as it was first known, originally honored those lost in the Civil War. In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed a bill making Memorial Day an official legal holiday to remember all of the men and women who have died in the course of serving our country. Here are some links to help you make this Memorial Day a day of remembrance:

• The Origins of Memorial Day - A nice explanation of how Memorial Day came to be an official holiday. Provided by the Department of Veteran Affairs.
• Today in History: May 30 - Another more extensive history provided by the Library of Congress.
• Buddy Poppy - The story of the red poppies you see this time of year and their significance. From the official Veterans of Foreign Wars site.
• The Tomb of the Unknowns - “Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God” Official site at Arlington National Cemetery.
• Prayer for Peace - President George W. Bush’s 2007 Proclamation.
• How to Observe Memorial Day - “…gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with choicest flowers of springtime….let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us as sacred charges upon the Nation’s gratitude,–the soldier’s and sailor’s widow and orphan.” –General John Logan, General Order No. 11, 5 May 1868 Ideas for putting the “Memorial” back in Memorial Day.
• Remembering Our Troops in Iraq - “On this special Memorial Day broadcast, Cpt. Chris Plekenpol talks about his experiences as a U.S. Army tank commander in Iraq." Focus on the Family's Daily Broadcast on Memorial Day.
• Memorial Day - Stories, articles, history and resources from Christianity Today.
• National Moment of Remembrance - “The National Moment of Remembrance, established by Congress, asks Americans wherever they are at 3 p.m., local time, on Memorial Day to pause in an act of national unity (duration: one minute)." Observe a moment of remembrance to show respect for those who have died securing our freedom.
• National Memorial Day Concert - "This year, our television event will focus on the servicemen and women who have been injured in the line of duty. The program will feature the hallowed burial ground of Arlington National Cemetery, which dates back to the Civil War and contains the remains of Americans killed in all wars, from the Revolutionary War to the present." To be broadcast live on PBS from the Capitol on Sunday, May 27th starting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.
• Flag Folding - A lesson in the proper way to fold the American flag.
• Special Days and Holidays: Memorial Day - Speeches, internet field trips, literature, and the military bands from Love to Learn Place.
• Annie’s Memorial Day Welcome Page - Many poems, special events, cards, and activities. And don’t miss Annie’s Memorial Day Kids Page!

I hope one or more of these ideas will touch your heart as you and your family spend time in prayer and remembrance this Memorial Day. :-)