Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday of May.

Memorial Day originated in the aftermath of the Civil War, during which more American soldiers died than in any other war before or since. It has become a day on which the dead of all wars, and the dead generally, are remembered in special programs held in cemeteries, churches, and other public meeting places. In 1971, Congress designated the last Monday in May as the national Memorial Day holiday.

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. After the Civil War, grieving citizens around the nation began holding memorial ceremonies, decorating the graves of Civil War soldiers with flags and tributes. Waterloo, New York, is officially considered the "birthplace" of Memorial Day because it was the first to make the practice of honoring the Civil War dead a citywide event when it held its first Decoration Day in 1866.

General John A. Logan, commander-in-chief of the veterans' group the Grand Army of the Republic, made a formal proclamation designating May 30, 1868, as a day of remembrance of the nation's war dead. The holiday was originally intended to honor the Civil War dead. Unfortunately, that was not the last conflict that American soldiers lost their lives in, and after World War I, the holiday's purpose was expanded to include all Americans lost to war.

Many people confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. While those who died are also remembered on Veterans Day, Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank and honor ALL those who served honorably in the military - in wartime or peacetime.