Holiday Act – Do you know when Memorial Day actually is?
For those of you under the age of 30, you may wonder if Memorial Day has always been on a Monday. The answer – no, it has not.
Memorial Day, originally known as “Decoration Day” in the South, was established on May 5, 1868 by the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans. Envisioned as an opportunity for the nation to decorate the graves of the Civil War dead. General John Logan declared May 30th as the official date of commemoration, because flower gardens would be in bloom to supply bouquets to decorate the graves. Signed in 1968 and put into effect in 1971, the Uniform Holiday Act (or National Holiday Act) made provisions for certain federal holidays to be observed on Mondays. The Act was designed to increase the number of three-day weekends for federal employees. The Act moved Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day and Columbus Day from fixed dates to designated Mondays. Veterans Day was orginially part of this act, but was moved back to its traditional date of November 11 by act of Congress in 1975. Want to know why? Warm up those fingers and do some research!
This Memorial Day when you get Monday off at work, think about “Decoration Day” and take time to remember, respect and honor those who have fallen in service of this country.
