May 27, 2002Originally a day to commemorate soldiers killed in the Civil War, Memorial Day now honors all U.S. war casualties. It officially became a holiday in 1868 when Commander in Chief John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic issued an order designating a day "…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."
Today, one of the most well-known Memorial Day traditions takes place at Arlington National Cemetery where the Tomb of the Unknowns is decorated with memorial wreaths.
The Story Behind the Memorial Day Poppy
One of the most popular ways to recognize Memorial Day is to wear a poppy as a sign of remembrance. The story behind this tradition is that of a Georgia teacher named Moina Michael.
In 1918, Moina was supporting the war effort by working at YMCA headquarters when she was deeply touched by a poem called We Shall Not Sleep. The poem began, "In Flanders fields the poppies grow, between the crosses, row on row."
After reading the poem, Moina pledged to always wear a red poppy as a memorial to fallen soldiers. She soon began a tireless campaign to make the poppy a national memorial symbol; she hoped it would remember the fallen and symbolize a new optimism for a country recovering from war.
In 1920 the American Legion adopted the Flanders Fields Poppy as its official memorial flower and, to this day, raise money for veteran's causes by distributing the flower.
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