Alva Review-Courier -

Memorial Day is an American holiday observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.

On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery.

"The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating, the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land," he proclaimed.

Five thousand participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.

By the late 1860s, Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.

Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.

Waterloo first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866. It was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags. Many Northern states held similar commemorative events and reprises the tradition in subsequent years; by 1890 each one had made Decoration Day an official state holiday. In 1966 the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day.

Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Memorial Day 2018 occurs on Monday, May 28.