🪖 Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a day dedicated to the memory of fallen soldiers in all wars and conflicts involving the 🇺🇸 United States. It is celebrated every year on the last Monday of May.

Interesting facts:

• The 🪖 Military helmet is intended to denote people and things related to military subjects. It was approved by Unicode in 2020 as a part of the 13.0 emoji version and is displayed only on 8 platforms so far.
• Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day because of the tradition of decorating graves with flowers. But it was soon renamed Memorial Day or Remembrance Day.

Holiday History:

In 1868 General John Logan was the first to announce Memorial Day on May 30 and ordered to decorate the 🪦 Graves of fallen soldiers in Arlington Cemetery. And in 1873, the New York authorities officially approved this holiday.

The southern and northern states of the United States celebrated Memorial Day on various dates until 1890. The southerners especially honored the memory of those killed on other dates to show their hostility. But this lasted only until the beginning of the First World War. After that, Memorial Day was declared the day of remembrance of all the fallen soldiers of the United States, and since 1971 the date of this day falls on the last Monday in May.

Traditions and symbols:

One of the main traditions of the holiday is the laying of 🌹 Flowers on the graves. It originated in 1861-1865, during the Civil War when 👩 Women laid 🌷 Flowers at the graves of fallen warriors. In 1867, Nella L. Sweet wrote a hymn «🧎‍♀️ Kneel Where Our 🖤 Loves Are Sleep» in honor of them.

As Memorial Day falls on a Monday, the day has been made an official holiday and the US flag hangs down until noon. On this morning, they go to the graves and visit the war memorials. And then 👪 Families traditionally gather for 🥪 Picnics, 🎉 Holidays, and ⚾ Sports events.