Let’s face it, many confuse Memorial Day with Veterans Day. Both Holidays are extremely relevant to US History and to us who call the United States of America home, and who benefit from certain liberties and privileges gained because of the service of millions of men and women in the military. Every year in May we celebrate Memorial Day. Here are 5 things one must know about this important US Holiday.
- Memorial Day is a day of remembrance, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the US armed forces. It was initially called Decoration Day.
- Decorating a grave with flowers is one of the significant symbols for this day.
- The graves of US military personnel, veterans and their spouses are at 147 national cemeteries, and they are decorated with flags; same for state veterans cemeteries.
- The United States celebrates Memorial Day every third Monday in May since 1971, and it encompasses a 3-day long weekend. Veterans’s Day is in November.
- On Memorial Day, the flag of the United States is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon. It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.
- Photos taken at the San Francisco National Cemetery, the morning of May 25, 2015.
- Source: Wikipedia, the US Government and other online sources.
- Content by Lupita Peimbert.
San Francisco National Cemetery, 1 Lincoln Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94129, USA
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