Life is funny. When I was younger Memorial Day was usually the first weekend you could usually spend outside getting a tan started. If you went back to school with a slight glow, you knew your weekend was meaningful. Of course I also knew this date was set aside usually to remember those who had died for our country or it was also a time to honor just family members who were no longer with us.
We usually went to the cemetery to lay flowers at my great-grandpa Sheldon's grave. He had passed long before I was born but he lived with my mom and grandma during World War II while my grandpa was serving and he and my grandma were very close.
Lexington, MO Confederate Cemetery
On Facebook for several days many of my friends had forwarded a post on The Blue Street Journal about May 1, 1865 was the original Memorial Day in Charleston, SC. Former slaves reburied 257 Union soldiers to honor them for fighting for their freedom. It took 2 weeks to dig the graves. In another source, Boalsburg, PA considers itself the birthplace of Memorial Day.
Personally, I don't think one answer matters as too who or where was the first real Memorial Day observance. For me its remembering family who served or didn't but still hold a strong place in our hearts. They are no longer with us so we take this day either to place flowers on grave sites, eat a favor meal, drink a favorite drink or just recall memories of the great times spent with wonderful people who left our lives too soon.
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