Memorial Day In Princeton, 5 Things To Know

Memorial Day isn’t what it once was. Originally observed on May 30, regardless of the day of the week that date fell, it was a day for laying flowers on the graves of the nation’s war dead, buried in Princeton and virtually every town across America. “Decoration Day,” as it was commonly called, is still a revered custom, but when Congress designated the last Monday in May as the date to observe Memorial Day, it evolved for many into a three-day weekend to unofficially kick off summer.

Memorial Day services in Princeton reflect the holiday’s original intent. There's a parade starting Saturday, May 25, at 10 a.m. from the corner of Princeton Avenue and Nassau Street to the Monument Hall Building, with a short ceremony at the building at 11 a.m.

Princeton forecast for Memorial Day is mostly sunny, with a high near 81.

Here are five more things to know about how Memorial Day evolved:

1. The origins of Memorial Day trace back more than 150 years to the final days of the Civil War. Because of the availability of flowers in the spring throughout the South, ceremonies honoring soldiers killed in battle were held in the spring, but weren’t restricted to a single day at the end of May, according to a history of Memorial Day compiled by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

2. Though the holiday was widely observed in the South, the main force behind Memorial Day was a Union general. John Alexander Logan (1826-1886), a former general and commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, wrote in a proclamation declaring Decoration Day:

“The 30th day of May 1868 is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the last rebellion and whose bodies now lie in almost every city village and hamlet churchyard in the land.

3. Confederate soldiers were all but forgotten in early Decoration Day observances. The first official observances were focused almost entirely on the righteousness of the Union cause, according to a long article that appeared in the Omaha Sunday Bee on May 30, 1909. The early Decoration Day observances, featuring stirring patriotic speeches, church services and musical performances, often spanned several days, culminating with formal ceremonies at cemeteries and the reverent placing of flowers on the graves of the war dead.

The heavy focus on the sacrifices of Union soldiers and sailors didn’t square well with people in the South, and they began honoring the Confederate war dead at different times of the year, though in 1884, there were some notable exceptions in border states like West Virginia, where both Union and Confederate veterans took part in separate commemorations, and in Maryland, where the former adversaries held a joint observance.

4. Decoration Day evolved into more of a general holiday by the turn of the century. Civil War veterans were growing older as the new century was about to dawn, and many observances were moved indoors because the men who had served had become too frail to stand outside for hours or participate in parades.

The focus shifted to recreational activities such as bicycle races and public dances as people seized the opportunity to participate in outdoor activities after a long winter. By 1899, Decoration Day had become a celebration of “picnics, outings and other amusements,” the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer noted.

Memories of the Civil War were fading, and surging patriotism around Spanish-American War in 1898 further helped diffuse some of the sharp regional divisions.

In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt paid homage to both Union and Confederate soldiers in a ceremony at Gettysburg, and in Chicago, citizens honored Confederate soldiers who had died as prisoners of war, decorating their graves with flowers.

5. By the time America entered World War I, Decoration Day was no longer just a holiday to honor the Civil War dead. The holiday was observed across the United States, and honored all soldiers who had died in American wars. Grave decorating continued, but the term “Memorial Day,” which had been used as far back as the 1880s, became increasingly popular after World War II.

Congress made the name official in 1967. In 1971, Memorial Day became a federal holiday and the observance was moved to the last Monday in May. However, a few states held to tradition, observing Memorial Day on May 30.