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A Bailey family tombstone on Bailey Mountain, West Virginia USA after decoration. According to the Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English, a Decoration or Decoration Day in Appalachia is "an occasion on which a family or church congregation gathers on a Sunday to place flowers on the graves of loved ones and to hold a memorial service for them.
Decoration practices are localized and unique to individual families, cemeteries, and communities, but common elements that unify the various Decoration Day practices are thought to represent syncretism of predominantly Christian cultures in 19th century Southern Appalachia with pre-Christian influences from Scotland, Ireland, and African cultures.
Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day. The holiday began as a way to honor soldiers who died in the Civil War, but the day now honors all U.S. veterans who have sacrificed their lives.
In the Antebellum South, families and churches had a long tradition of cleaning the burial sites of their cherished dead and decorating the graves with flowers. [1] These decoration days usually took place in spring or early summer when flowers were in full bloom and often included religious memorial services.
The first Decoration Day ceremony took place at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. James A. Garfield, a future American president who was an Ohio congressman at the time, gave a speech to ...
For many Americans, Memorial Day marks a fun-filled long weekend and the unofficial start of summer. However, the holiday was created for a much more solemn purpose: commemorating the U.S ...
A day earlier, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail: The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.
Observed on the last Monday in May, Memorial Day is a federal holiday celebrated on May 27 this year.. For many people, it means a three-day weekend, and like other national holidays, a majority ...