Caroline Herrington ’28
EE Staff Writer
Memorial Day is a national holiday that is celebrated the last Monday in May that honors and remembers the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. It also honors all those who fought and were ready to risk their lives for our country. Memorial Day started on May 30, 1868 and still today we honor all those who fought and died. This year it is on May 26, 2025. To celebrate Memorial Day we have parades, place flowers/flags on graves, and observe a moment of silence.
There are many ways you can give respect and celebrate Memorial Day. You can wear red, white, and blue, volunteer, go to parades, be in the parade, write letters to soldiers and their families, donate to military causes, and/or put together something nice to give to soldiers and/or their families.
Memorial Day is really important because it shows respect to those who died during battle. They gave up their lives for our nation. It takes a lot of strength and courage to do these things. Communities and citizens come together to watch the parades and so do those who survived. The parades feature school bands, police cars, firefighters, people who survived and fought in the war, military leaders, and people on floats showing respect.
If you do not know where to go to celebrate or what you could do, you could ask your friends and family and see if they want to go with you to watch the parades in your local communities. Trumbull’s Memorial Day parade begins at 10am and goes along Main Street. The community also comes together and honors those who fought and served with wreath-laying ceremonies at the Vietnam memorial on White Plains Rd. at 8am and Town Hall at 9am.
Some interesting facts about Memorial Day are that it was called Decoration Day before it changed to Memorial Day. Memorial Day was not officially a holiday until 1968. In New York, there is an annual Memorial Day parade on Fifth Avenue and the National Memorial Day Parade takes place in Washington DC and will be televised on most major networks beginning at 1pm.