General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, is the one who called for this nationwide day of remembrance. On the first Decoration Day on May 30th 1868, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there. Many Northern states held similar commemorative events and reprised the tradition in subsequent years; by 1890 each one had made Decoration Day an official state holiday. Many Southern states, on the other hand, continued to honor their dead on separate days until after World War I.

Now originally this holiday was only designated in remembrance of those fallen in the Civil War, and gradually Decoration Day became known as Memorial Day. Then during World War I the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars.

For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30th, the date Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees; the change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.

Now while the history of this holiday may not seem super important the significance of it is. This day is meant to celebrate and honor all those people who laid down their lives for us. We may not be in a war right now, but we do have soldiers out there protecting us. Young men and women who are willing to make that ultimate sacrifice so that we can continue to live our comfortable lives. It’s easy to forget from our cozy houses, watching comedy on TV. It’s easy to not know the countless faces who now rest beneath the earth. But each and every one of these individuals deserves our deepest gratitude and respect! As well as the families who lost them!

So I hope today that while you are enjoying your time away from work or school, while you spend time outside with family or watching some new movie – that you remember the reason why you have the freedom to do those things. That you take a few minutes at 3 pm this afternoon when the nation takes a moment of silence for those who’ve given their lives for us. Take that time to pause and whisper a word of thanks.