Memorial Day began as a simple ritual: decorate the graves of fallen Union soldiers with flowers, wreathes, and crosses. Originally called Decoration Day, it was first celebrated in Waterloo, New York in 1866 as a tribute to the Union soldiers who died during the Civil War. The holiday's original date was May 30th, a day chosen to avoid the anniversary of any particular battle. Nothing significant happened on any May 30th during the Civil War, thus it seemed fitting to make that the day to decorate the graves of those who died, at least those on the Union side.

It took over 50 years for the holiday to be celebrated in the South, and then only grudgingly. Honoring soldiers is easy when they are your own. Honoring soldiers of the enemy is another story, even if they are fellow Americans. The South had their own version of the day, that some claim preceded the Northern version of the holiday.

As with so many holidays, Memorial Day began its slide into insignificance with first a change in name. Decoration Day implied a certain activity should accompany the celebration, and with so many families affected by the war decorating the graves of the dead was a highly personal and solemn experience. By 1888, with the war decades in the past, the name was changed to Memorial Day, and to celebrate the day it was enough to "memorialize" instead of "decorate." In 1968 the Uniform Holidays Bill was passed, which forced the day to be celebrated on the last Monday of May, providing Americans with a three day weekend to enjoy but losing the last direct connection to actual history. Many Veteran's groups continue to lobby for the return of the holiday to the traditional date of the 30th, granting it the status of the most important national holidays, in the same league as Independence Day.

So what meaning does Memorial Day have for us in 2007? To some, honoring the fallen means preventing more from dying, and they protest America's current war with demonstrations around the country. To others it means countering this perceived insult with gatherings of their own. For most though, the day means little more than a welcome day off from work, where the flags fly at half mast "for some reason."

One fact cannot be denied. Between Memorial Day 2006 and 2007 we have 989 more soldiers to dignify, 989 men and women who served like countless others, some reluctantly, some enthusiastically, but all honorably and now, tragically, they serve no more.

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