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Next: 31 May 2027

Memorial Day

The United States decorates the graves of its war dead on the last Monday of May.

The U.S. Air Force Band plays the national anthem during a Memorial Day ceremony at the Memorial Amphitheater May 27, 2013, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. President Barack Obama delivered remarks during
Photo: US Air Force, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

What happens

Memorial Day was first called Decoration Day, because its purpose was to decorate the graves of soldiers with flowers. It began after the American Civil War and was set in late May, when flowers are in bloom across the country. Families still take flowers and flags to cemeteries. After the First World War an American teacher, Moina Michael, began wearing a red poppy in memory of the dead, and veterans' groups hand out paper poppies in the days before.

The flowers

Remembrance poppyPaper poppies are given out by veterans' groups.PeonyIn bloom in late May and an old choice for graves.WreathLaid at war memorials and at the national cemetery at Arlington.
About this page

Original text by the Phool desk, written with AI assistance. Background: "Memorial Day" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If we have something wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly bunch

Every Monday: what is in bloom, the flower festivals of the week, seven flowers you may not know and one tradition explained.