Memorial Day

memorial
1374 (adj.) "preserving the memory of a person or thing;" 1382 (n.) "something by which the memory of a person, thing, or event is preserved, monument," from L.L. memoriale, lit. noun use of neut. of L. memorialis (adj.) "of or belonging to memory," from memoria "memory" (from memor "mindful, remembering," from PIE base *men-/*mon- "think"). Noun sense of "memorial act, commemoration" is from 1468.

Memorial Day (from Wikipedia):

• Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who perished while in military service to their country. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War, it was expanded after World War I to include casualties of any war or military action.
• The alternative name of "Memorial Day" was first used in 1882, but did not become more common until after World War II, and was not declared the official name by Federal law until 1967.
• It was observed for the first time on May 30 of [1868]; the date was chosen because it was not the anniversary of a [Civil War] battle. The tombs of fallen Union soldiers were decorated in remembrance of this day.
• On June 28, 1968, the United States Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved three holidays [Washington's Birthday (which evolved into Presidents' Day), Veterans Day, and Memorial Day] from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend...
• ... [S]ome, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), advocate returning to this fixed date, although the significance of the date is tenuous. The VFW stated in a 2002 Memorial Day Address, "Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed a lot to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day."
• The southeastern U.S. celebrates Decoration Day as a day to decorate the graves of all family members, and it is not reserved for those who served in the military. The region observes Decoration Day on the Sunday before Memorial Day.
• Some Americans also view Memorial Day as the unofficial beginning of summer and Labor Day as the unofficial end of the season.