Interesting Memorial Day Facts

Each year on the final Monday in May the United States celebrates the federal holiday Memorial Day. Originally Memorial Day was known as Decoration Day, meant to honor the Union and the Confederate soldiers who died during the American Civil War.

By the 1900s it had become a day to celebrate all American soldiers who died while serving in the military. It wasn't until 1967 that it was legally named Memorial Day. It became a federal holiday in 1971.

Interesting Memorial Day Facts

• The true origins of who held the first Memorial Day celebration is a debated subject.
• Approximately 620,000 soldiers on both sides died during the Civil War.
• The Grand Army of the Republic was created by the Union Army to honor their dead. After World War I the American Legion took over their duties.
• Congress passed a law in 2000 that requires all Americans to stop what they are doing at 3pm on Memorial Day to remember and to honor those who have died serving the United States. President Clinton signed this action.
• The flag is supposed to be flown at half-mast until noon, and then raised to full mast until sunset on Memorial Day.
• The tradition of wearing red poppies on Memorial Day originated from John McCrae's 1915 poem In Flanders Fields. In Canada they wear red poppies to honor their soldiers on Remembrance Day in November each year.
• Although not as popular today, one tradition was to eat a picnic meal while sitting on the ground of a cemetery. There are still some people in the rural areas of the South that continue to practice this tradition.
• It's common for volunteers to place the American flag on graves in the national cemeteries. Memorial Day is also a popular day for people to visit cemeteries and honor those who have died while serving in the military.
• It's estimated that approximately 32 million people travel by car over Memorial Day weekend.
• Memorial Day also marks the beginning of the summer vacation season while Labor Day marks the end.
• In some areas of the rural South, they hold annual Decoration Days around this time for certain cemeteries, often in the mountains.
• Memorial Day is sometimes confused with Veterans Day. However, Veterans Day honors all United States military veterans, while Memorial Day honors the soldiers who died while serving.
• In 1966, President Johnson named Waterloo, New York as the original place of Memorial Day.
• There were more American lives lost during the Civil War then the two World Wars combined. Approximately 620,000 died during the Civil War while approximately 116,516 died in World War I and approximately 405,399 died in World War II.
• There are more than 300,000 fallen soldiers buried at Arlington Cemetery. On average, there are 28 burials there each day.
• Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia celebrate Confederate Memorial Day. These are former Confederate states, and they celebrate on various other days ranging from January 19th to June 3rd.
• In 2012 there was a movie made called Memorial Day. John and James Cromwell and Jonathan Bennett starred in the film. The story revolves around a 13 year old boy who finds his grandpa's footlocker from the 2nd World War.

Interesting Grandparent's Day Facts

In the United States Grandparent's Day has been observed since 1978. Grandparent's Day falls on the first Sunday after Labor Day in the U.S. The founder of National Grandparent's Day I the United States was Marian McQuade, a grandmother from West Virginia.

She has been officially recognized as the founder by the President Jimmy Carter. McQuade's goal was educating the country's youth about the contributions seniors have made throughout the country's history.

Unlike Mother's Day and Father's Day, on Grandparent's Day it is appropriate for grandchildren to give gifts to their grandparents and vice versa.

Interesting Grandparent's Day Facts:

• Marian McQuade, the founder of Grandparent's Day, died in 2008, having 15 children, 43 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren.
• West Virginia honored Marian McQuade by putting her name on highway signs on the roads leading to hometown of Oak Hill that read, "Home of Marian McQuade, Founder of National Grandparent's Day".
• The official flower for Grandparent's Day is the forget-me-not. It was adopted as Grandparent's Day's official flower in April 20th, 1999 by the National Grandparent's Day Council.
• National Grandparent's Day official song is titled "A Song for Grandma and Grandpa". It was written by Johnny Prill.
• Johnny Prill was awarded the National Songwriter's Award by the National Grandparent's Day Council for his song "A Song for Grandma and Grandpa".
• Several countries other than the United States celebrate Grandparent's Day, including Australia (date varies in different states), Canada, Estonia (second Sunday in September), Italy (October 2nd), Pakistan (second Sunday in October), Singapore, South Sudan (2nd Sunday in November), Taiwan (last Sunday in August), and in the UK (1st Sunday in October).
• Some countries celebrate Grandmother's Day as a holiday on its own including France (first Sunday in March), Germany (2nd Sunday in October), and Poland (January 21st).
• Some countries celebrate Grandfather's Day as a holiday on its own including Poland, on January 22nd, one day after Grandmother's Day.
• It is estimated that 7.1 million grandparents in the United States have grandchildren living with them. This is equal to 10% of the children in the United States.
• It is estimated that in the United States there are 2.7 million grandparents acting as primary caregivers for their grandchildren. Of the 2.7 million grandparents caring for their grandchildren, more than 600,000 are living below the poverty level.
• More than 700,000 of the grandparents caring for their grandchildren in the U.S. are disabled.
• It is estimated that the average grandparent in the United States is 48.
• Grandparents often care for their grandchildren. Famous people who were raised by their grandparents include Oprah Winfrey, President Barack Obama, Jack Nicholson, Willie Nelson, Bobby Darin, Eric Clapton, Carol Burnett, and Maya Angelou.
• Grandparent's Day can be celebrated in many different ways including gift giving, playing board games or spending the day together with their grandchildren, sharing some of their favorite past times such as fishing or visiting museums with their grandchildren, sharing memories, or enjoying a meal together with their grandchildren.

Mother's Day Facts

Mother's Day celebrated meant to honor mothers and their influence in society, maternal bonds and motherhood itself.

In the United States and Canada it is celebrated on the second Sunday in May, but in other parts of the world it is sometimes celebrated in March, as well as in other months.

Interesting Facts About Mother's Day

• The first Mother's Day was celebrated in 1908. Anna Jarvis honored her mother Ann Jarvis with a memorial. Ann Jarvis had started a committee in 1868 to establish ‘Mother's Friendship Day'. Her motivation had been to reunite families after the Civil War. She died in 1905, before Mother's Day became a holiday.
• In 1912, Anna Jarvis trademarked both ‘Mother's Day' and ‘the second Sunday in May'. She also created Mother's Day International Association.
• Mother's Day is celebrated in close to 50 countries in different parts of the world.
• In most countries and languages, the word for mother begins with "M".
• Of all the flowers bought for holidays, one quarter are purchased for Mother's Day.
• The most common flower for Mother's Day is the carnation; pink and red for mothers who are alive and white for those who have passed away.
• Common gifts on Mother's Day include: flowers, dinner or lunch in a restaurant, jewelry, gift cards, clothing and treats such as a trip to a spa. Books, CDs, housewares and gardening tools are popular gifts as well.
• The writer of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Julia Howe, tried to start a Mother's Day in 1872. It was an antiwar observance first held in 1872. It continued in Boston but after 10 years it had lost its popularity.
• In the 1800s attempts were made to celebrate mothers in various parts of the U.S. but none of them reached beyond their local areas.
• In Bolivia, the date chosen for Mother's Day was based on the day that women participated in a battle. Other countries have also chosen the date for Mother's Day to coincide with holidays that also celebrate women.
• In the former Yugoslavia, children would tie up their mother on Mother's Day. In order to be freed she had to pay them with treats.
• Mother's Day became a recognized holiday in 1914 in the United States.