Celebrating Memorial Day

Many people don’t give a second thought to what we’re really celebrating on Memorial Day. For many it’s the end of an extended weekend marking the informal start of summer. It’s a day where family and friends gets together to have a barbecue or picnic. The meaning of the day seems to get lost amongst the hamburgers, hotdogs, beer, and soda pop.

Memorial Day first started as Decoration Day, a day where the graves of soldiers who had fallen during the American Civil War were decorated. After the first Great World War, observers began to honor the dead of all the American Wars. In 1971, Congress finally declared Memorial Day a national Holiday to be celebrated on the last Monday of May.

Memorial day shouldn’t be confused with Veteran’s Day. Veteran’s Day is the day to honor all veterans of the armed forces, whether they survived or not. Memorial Day is the day to honor military personnel who paid the ultimate price by laying down their lives in the performance of their military duties.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to these American heroes. At 3:00 PM local time, all Americans are encouraged to pause for a National Moment of Remembrance.

(Lou Serrano is a Southern CA Realtor specializing in residential real estate. Serving Los Angeles, San Dimas, Glendora, La Verne, and all of Southern CA.)