As another Memorial Day comes, it’s important to take a look at the history of the holiday and to clarify that no, it’s not the same as Veterans Day.
Memorial Day, a national holiday in honor of those who died in war, has its origins dating back to the Civil War. In comparison, Veterans Day in November, which started as Armistice Day to celebrate the first anniversary of the end of World War I, honors American veterans — living and dead.
On May 5, 1868, three years after the ended, an organization of Union veterans established Decoration Day as a time to place flowers on the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers, according to the .
Although various cities claim to have held observances before then, the 1868 Decoration Day at Arlington National Cemetery was the first large observance with about 5,000 people in attendance, including Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, according to the VA.
Later, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y., as the birthplace of the holiday, saying the town honored local veterans who fought in the Civil War two years earlier than the event at Arlington.
Although initially only honoring fallen soldiers in the Civil War, Memorial Day was expanded after World War I to honor all those who have died in American wars. Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday in 1971.
