Dear Members and Friends of Christ Lutheran Church...
Memorial Day History
"That Nation which respects and honors its dead, shall ever be respected and honored itself." - Brevet Lieut-Col. Edmund B. Whitman, 1868
This holiday is set aside on the last Monday in May to mourn and honor the deceased men and women who answered the call to serve our country.
In the latest years of the Civil War (1861-1865) and following, communities in the North and South, Black and White, decorated soldiers' graves with floral honors on springtime "decoration days." This practice dates back to documented facts from Classical Roman times into the nineteenth century to western Europe. In 1868, an order issued by Grand Army of the Republic Commander-in-Chief John A. Logan put out the proclamation to change this holiday name to "Memorial Day". The purpose of the name change, partly, was to be more serious of the honor bestowed on the entombed heroes.
On May 5, 1868, The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a politically powerful organization Union veterans led by Major General John A. Logan — issued General Orders No. 11 or the "Memorial Day Act". This issuance formally established "Memorial Day" as a Decoration Day on which the nation would remember its war dead and decorate their graves. The modern proclamation calls on Americans "to observe Memorial Day by praying, according to their individual religious faith, for permanent peace."
Karen Kovacs
Church Council Secretary
"That Nation which respects and honors its dead, shall ever be respected and honored itself." - Brevet Lieut-Col. Edmund B. Whitman, 1868
This holiday is set aside on the last Monday in May to mourn and honor the deceased men and women who answered the call to serve our country.
In the latest years of the Civil War (1861-1865) and following, communities in the North and South, Black and White, decorated soldiers' graves with floral honors on springtime "decoration days." This practice dates back to documented facts from Classical Roman times into the nineteenth century to western Europe. In 1868, an order issued by Grand Army of the Republic Commander-in-Chief John A. Logan put out the proclamation to change this holiday name to "Memorial Day". The purpose of the name change, partly, was to be more serious of the honor bestowed on the entombed heroes.
On May 5, 1868, The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a politically powerful organization Union veterans led by Major General John A. Logan — issued General Orders No. 11 or the "Memorial Day Act". This issuance formally established "Memorial Day" as a Decoration Day on which the nation would remember its war dead and decorate their graves. The modern proclamation calls on Americans "to observe Memorial Day by praying, according to their individual religious faith, for permanent peace."
Karen Kovacs
Church Council Secretary