The practice of decorating soldiers` graves with flowers is an ancient custom. Soldiers` graves were decorated in the U.S. before and during the American Civil War. Many of the origination claims are myths, unsupported by evidence, while others are one-time cemetery dedications or funeral tributes
In 1865, the federal government also began creating the United States National Cemetery System for the Union war dead.
By the 1880s, ceremonies were becoming more consistent across geography as the GAR provided handbooks that presented specific procedures, poems, and Bible verses for local post commanders to utilize in planning the local event. Historian Stuart McConnell reports:
"on the day itself, the post assembled and marched to the local cemetery to decorate the graves of the fallen, an enterprise meticulously organized months in advance to assure that none were missed. Finally came a simple and subdued graveyard service involving prayers, short patriotic speeches, and music... and at the end perhaps a rifle salute."
The name "Memorial Day", which was first attested in 1882, gradually became more common than "Decoration Day" after World War II but was not declared the official name by federal law until 1967. On June 28, 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved four holidays, including Memorial Day, from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend.
The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971. After some initial confusion and unwillingness to comply, all 50 states adopted Congress`s change of date within a few years.
-- Wikipedia
Did people give their lives in battle so that we would namelessly honor them once a year?
Why did they fight and die then?
They fought for Principles.
They fought for Values.
They fought for Love.
They fought for Family
They fought for Freedom
They fought for an Ideal.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
They did not fight and die for careless, wasteful, unproductive, selfish, irresponsible, hateful, unthankful people to wallow in depravity.
Such people are unworthy of a single person`s sacrifice, much less the hundreds of thousand who have done so.
The un American Elitists who have rewritten History, who have legislated Immorality, who have enabled Profligates, who have taxed the Productive unmercifully are Domestic Enemies of the Constitution for which these brave soldiers have given everything.
So, today it is not sufficient for us to simply give a nod to those thousands. We must reclaim what the enemies of our country have stolen, undermined and given away so recklessly.
We must reclaim our future to truly honor their sacrifice.