It's more than picnics and parades and a day off from work

The picnics and parades are fun and a paid holiday never hurts. As time marches on, it becomes easier to forget about the true meaning of Memorial Day.

It was originally called Decoration Day.

On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month. “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.

Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars.

Take a moment or two this weekend to remember and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/memorial-day-history