U.S. Memorial Day History and Information on U.S. War Memorials

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.

There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University's Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860's tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.

General John A. Logan Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [LC-B8172- 6403 DLC (b&w film neg.)]

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

In 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields," Moina Michael replied with her own poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red That grows on fields where valor led, It seems to signal to the skies That blood of heroes never dies.

She then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need. Later a Madam Guerin from France was visiting the United States and learned of this new custom started by Ms.Michael and when she returned to France, made artificial red poppies to raise money for war orphaned children and widowed women. This tradition spread to other countries. In 1921, the Franco-American Children's League sold poppies nationally to benefit war orphans of France and Belgium. The League disbanded a year later and Madam Guerin approached the VFW for help. Shortly before Memorial Day in 1922 the VFW became the first veterans' organization to nationally sell poppies. Two years later their "Buddy" Poppy program was selling artificial poppies made by disabled veterans. In 1948 the US Post Office honored Ms Michael for her role in founding the National Poppy movement by issuing a red 3 cent postage stamp with her likeness on it.

Traditional observance of Memorial day has diminished over the years. Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected. Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. While there are towns and cities that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in decades. Some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead, and not just those fallen in service to our country.

There are a few notable exceptions. Since the late 50's on the Thursday before Memorial Day, the 1,200 soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing. In 1951, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of St. Louis began placing flags on the 150,000 graves at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery as an annual Good Turn, a practice that continues to this day. More recently, beginning in 1998, on the Saturday before the observed day for Memorial Day, the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts place a candle at each of approximately 15,300 grave sites of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park on Marye's Heights (the Luminaria Program). And in 2004, Washington D.C. held its first Memorial Day parade in over 60 years.

To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps."

The Moment of Remembrance is a step in the right direction to returning the meaning back to the day. What is needed is a full return to the original day of observance. Set aside one day out of the year for the nation to get together to remember, reflect and honor those who have given their all in service to their country.

But what may be needed to return the solemn, and even sacred, spirit back to Memorial Day is for a return to its traditional day of observance. Many feel that when Congress made the day into a three-day weekend in with the National Holiday Act of 1971, it made it all the easier for people to be distracted from the spirit and meaning of the day. As the VFW stated in its 2002 Memorial Day address: "Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed greatly to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day."

On January 19, 1999 Senator Inouye introduced bill S 189 to the Senate which proposes to restore the traditional day of observance of Memorial Day back to May 30th instead of "the last Monday in May". On April 19, 1999 Representative Gibbons introduced the bill to the House (H.R. 1474). The bills were referred the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Government Reform.

To date, there has been no further developments on the bill. Please write your Representative and your Senators, urging them to support these bills. You can also contact Mr. Inouye to let him know of your support.

Visit our Help Restore the Traditional Day of Observance page for more information on this issue, and for more ways you can help.

To see what day Memorial Day falls on for the next 10 years, visit the Memorial Day Calendar page.

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Animated Google Doodle Honors 117th Birthday of Dancer Martha Graham

The Graham Center Celebrates our Google Doodle

Martha Graham (1894–1991) is known as one of the great creative minds of the 20th Century, often compared with such greats as Picasso, Einstein, and Stravinsky because she made such radical change through the power of her discoveries. In the 1920s and 30s she created a completely new style of dancing and revolutionized dance and theater worldwide. Many of Graham’s groundbreaking ideas are referenced in the five dancing figures of the Martha Graham Google Doodle. Here are just a few clues and links to help you decipher the Doodle.

	The Doodle begins with the shrouded figure from Lamentation, Graham’s signature solo from 1930. Then radical, and now iconic, the solo contains the seeds of Graham’s revolution – from the gutsy, torso-driven movement to the stark, unadorned emotion and her desire to “chart a graph of the heart” with her dances. The innovative costume, a tube of stretchy wool, accentuates the torque and pull of the movement, becoming the sculptural evocation of grief itself.
	The dancer then sweeps upright with an insouciant flip of the hair and becomes the essence of Satyric Festival Song from 1932. In this solo, Graham mocked her own serious reputation (gained through works such as Lamentation) and took inspiration from the clown figures used in Native American ritual. This figure represents the many masterpieces Graham created that grew out of her love of the unique space, rhythms, and culture of the American southwest.
	With a spin onto the knees and a reach forward, the dancer brings us the joy and reverence for the earth from the Bride in Appalachian Spring. One of Graham’s most beloved works, the ballet was created in 1944. Graham and her collaborators, the composer Aaron Copland and the sculptor Isamu Noguchi, considered the work to be their contribution to the war effort. The Bride figure evokes Graham’s deep American roots, her remarkable relationship with American art and music, and her genius at creating works that spoke of real human concerns.
	The Bride is followed by a ferocious jump, the dancer’s torso flung forward, hovering in a famous Graham “contraction”. This is one of the “Daughters of the Night,” from the chorus of Night Journey, premiered in 1947. She calls up the masterworks Graham created by twisting classic tales from Greek drama into searing contemporary narratives. Night Journey is also the ultimate example of Graham’s revolutionary manipulation of time on stage. In it, the story of Oedipus unfolds through flashback and memory in the mind of his mother and wife, Jocasta.
	The high kick with a sweep of the skirt and the determined finish – feet planted firmly, head erect and focused – complete the Doodle with the young woman from Frontier, another seminal solo from 1935. Frontier reminds us of Graham’s reverence for individualism and self-empowerment and of her unquenchable “appetite for the new”. She created 181 dances in the course of her life, constantly forging new frontiers in American art until her death at age 96 in 1991. The dance company she launched in 1926 continues to delight audiences around the world with performances of the great Graham masterworks.

Who’s responsible? Ryan Woodward created this animation. He was inspired by Blakeley White-McGuire, a principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company, dancing a phrase of iconic Graham moves designed by Janet Eilber, Artistic Director of the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance.

Where to See the Martha Graham Dance Company

Want to see the Graham masterworks performed live? Check out our 2011–2012 touring schedule.

BE PART OF RECREATING A MASTERPIECE!

The Martha Graham Dance Company will reconstruct Graham’s renowned Night Journey for worldwide touring in its 2011–12 season. With a commissioned score by composer William Schuman and sets by the sculptor Isamu Noguchi, this brilliant reworking of the Oedipus story premiered in 1947 and is a milestone of 20th Century theater. Help us with all that goes into bringing this masterwork back to life: recreating the costumes, restoring the sets and, of course, rehearsing the authentic, revolutionary and profound Graham moves. A donation of any size will make you a part of this important process.

DONATION OF $5 – $99	Your entire donation goes toward supporting our art
DONATION OF $100 or more	Also receive a Martha Graham Dance Company T-shirt
DONATION OF $250 or more	Also receive an invitation to a rehearsal of Night Journey
DONATION OF $500 or more	Also receive an invitation to a backstage tour and celebratory toast with the cast after opening night

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gold | gold price | gold price today | gold price trend in 2011

With a fall in prices of silver on Friday, the jewellers are expecting brisk business, specially with the middle-class families opting to buy a silver coin. "Silver price on Friday was Rs 59,000 per kg and over the past two days the price has crashed by over Rs 9,000. Even the middle-class families will come forward and but at least a Goddess Laxmi' coin,'' says Pratik Soni of Balaji Jewellers in the Walled City areas.

Akshay Tritiya is considered the most auspicious day by Hindus, owing to the belief that any work that is commenced this day comes to fruition. It is a day when several weddings are held all across the country and is the beginning of the wedding season.



The Pink City is known for its silver jewellery and its dealers too are expecting good business, much like the dealers of gems. According to Rajesh Dhamani, Hon Secretary, Jaipur Jewellers Association the demand for precious stones, gems and beads has particularly increased during the last one year.

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Mother's Day

Mother's Day Celebration in India are slowly catching!

The concept of celebrating Mothers Day on the second Sunday of May is very new in India and it can be said that in a time span of less than a decade, Mothers Day has been a great success. In the presence of umpteenth number of existing festivals, it is a remarkable achievement for a foreign festival to make its presence felt in the vast and culturally diverse country like India.

Globalisation, to a great extent has helped to make this Western, or mainly American festival to make its presence felt in India. Besides interaction of Indians with the West is at an all time high. A lot many people have been in US or have their relatives staying there. Internet and satellite revolution has made information about other cultures more accessible than ever. But the reason behind the success of Mothers Day in India can be attributed to the emotions which are attached to the festival. Mothers are mothers everywhere, they are as much loved and respected in India as in any other part of the world. Perhaps Indians have always felt the need of such a day which is devoted solely to mothers. Mothers Day gives them all the opportunity to celebrate such a day.

Time to Reflect and Rejoice
Just as in the West, Indians too take Mothers Day as a time too reflect on the importance of mothers in their life. They take it is time to think about all the pains their mother took while they were sick, the hardships she went through in bringing them up and all the sacrifices she made so that they lead a better life. Mothers Day is the time to say a big thank you to mother for all this and for being a constant guiding force in our lives.

In India, people send cards to their mamas on Mothers Day. Make a meal for Mothers so that she can have a days rest from the kitchen. Tradition of giving gifts on Mothers Day is also rampant. The whole idea of celebrating Mothers Day is to thank mother, to make her feel important on the day and be happy about mothering caring children. Mothers should be pampered on the day by children and on the whole should be given a happy Mothers Day.

Celebrations in Metropolitan and Big Cities
Awareness about Mothers Day is much greater in metros and other big and happening cities than in smaller towns. Thanks to the booming card market, who keep reminding people about when is Mothers Day and how it must be celebrated.

In the capital city of Delhi, Mothers Day is celebrated in a big way and has been commericalised to a great extent. Big companies launch various women oriented products on the day and restaurants try to lure people with attractive advertisements. Media too creates a big hype about the day with special programmes and features.

Looking at the fast pace at which the excitement for Mothers Day is growing it will not be long when the Mothers Day will be noted as the national festival of India.

Mother's Day History

Contrary to popular belief, Mother's Day was not conceived and fine-tuned in the boardroom of Hallmark. The earliest tributes to mothers date back to the annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to Rhea, the mother of many deities, and to the offerings ancient Romans made to their Great Mother of Gods, Cybele. Christians celebrated this festival on the fourth Sunday in Lent in honor of Mary, mother of Christ. In England this holiday was expanded to include all mothers and was called Mothering Sunday.

In the United States, Mother's Day started nearly 150 years ago, when Anna Jarvis, an Appalachian homemaker, organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community, a cause she believed would be best advocated by mothers. She called it "Mother's Work Day."

Fifteen years later, Julia Ward Howe, a Boston poet, pacifist, suffragist, and author of the lyrics to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," organized a day encouraging mothers to rally for peace, since she believed they bore the loss of human life more harshly than anyone else.

In 1905 when Anna Jarvis died, her daughter, also named Anna, began a campaign to memorialize the life work of her mother. Legend has it that young Anna remembered a Sunday school lesson that her mother gave in which she said, "I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother's day. There are many days for men, but none for mothers."

Anna began to lobby prominent businessmen like John Wannamaker, and politicians including Presidents Taft and Roosevelt to support her campaign to create a special day to honor mothers. At one of the first services organized to celebrate Anna's mother in 1908, at her church in West Virginia, Anna handed out her mother's favorite flower, the white carnation. Five years later, the House of Representatives adopted a resolution calling for officials of the federal government to wear white carnations on Mother's Day. In 1914 Anna's hard work paid off when Woodrow Wilson signed a bill recognizing Mother's Day as a national holiday.

At first, people observed Mother's Day by attending church, writing letters to their mothers, and eventually, by sending cards, presents, and flowers. With the increasing gift-giving activity associated with Mother's Day, Anna Jarvis became enraged. She believed that the day's sentiment was being sacrificed at the expense of greed and profit. In 1923 she filed a lawsuit to stop a Mother's Day festival, and was even arrested for disturbing the peace at a convention selling carnations for a war mother's group. Before her death in 1948, Jarvis is said to have confessed that she regretted ever starting the mother's day tradition.

Despite Jarvis's misgivings, Mother's Day has flourished in the United States. In fact, the second Sunday of May has become the most popular day of the year to dine out, and telephone lines record their highest traffic, as sons and daughters everywhere take advantage of this day to honor and to express appreciation of their mothers

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Celebrate Mothers Day 8th May 2011

Recreate memories of a lifetime on Mother's Day with adorable gifts. Please your mom by choosing from a range of endearing Mother's Day gifts.

Historical antecedents

Celebrations of mothers and motherhood occur throughout the world; many of these have histories can be traced back to ancient festivals. The modern US-celebration of Mother's Day is not directly related to these.[1][2][3]

There is evidence of mother goddess worship in the ancient world, dating back as far as 6.000 BC,[4]:376 and many mother goddess shrines could be found in ancient times in Asia minor.[4]:372

Ancient Greece imported the Mother Goddess cult from Asia Minor, in the form of a festival to Cybele, a great mother of Greek gods. It was held around the Vernal Equinox around Asia Minor. Originally they identified Cybele with Rhea, the mother of gods. The details were not recorded, and we only know that the goddess was attended by galli.[4]:374[5]

Ancient Romans appropriated the cult to Cybele/Rhea in order to absorb culturally the Greeks and the habitants of Asia Minor, honoring Cybele in the Hilaria festivals, from the Ides of March (15 March) to 18 March.[4]:371-375 But the Romans were horrified by the Greek celebrations; they quickly associated the cult to the Roman version of Cybele and they made up their own customs.[4]:373 They also made a separate festival in April dedicated to Magna Deorum Mater Idaea, a version of Cybele that was even further separated from Greek customs.[4]:373 The two goddesses, Cybele and Mater Idaea, were eventually merged into a single entity that was completely Romanized, although they kept using galli.[4]:374-375

The festivals of Cybele evolved into the Christian festival of Mothering Sunday, honouring the Virgin Mary and your mother church (the main church of the area)[1] It's now a long standing tradition, part of the liturgical calendar in several Christian denominations, including Anglicans, and in the Catholic calendar it is marked as Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent. Children and young people who were "in service" (servants in richer households) were given a day off on that date so they could visit their families (or, originally, return to their "mother" church). The children would pick wild flowers along the way to place them in the church or to give them to their mothers as gifts. Eventually, the religious tradition evolved into a secular tradition of giving gifts to mothers.[6] This festival survived in the UK and Ireland for longer than in other European countries, and it was repopularised in the 20th Century. Most people are unaware of its historical origins, and regard Mothering Sunday and Mother's Day as the one and same festival.[7]

Ancient romans had a different unrelated holiday, Matronalia, that was dedicated to Juno; it was intended to favor the fertility of married women.[8] Married women, independently of whether they were mothers or not, made private parties where they prayed for happiness in their marriages and prepared dishes for their female slaves. The husbands gave money and gifts to their wifes and prayed for their pregnancy. It was complemented by the Saturnalia festival, where male slaves were given freedom and wifes gave presents to their husbands.[9][10] It was celebrated when the harvests were planted.

[edit] Modern antecedents

One of the early calls to celebrate a Mother's Day in the United States was the "Mother's Day Proclamation" by Julia Ward Howe. Written in 1870, it was a pacifist reaction to the carnage of the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War. The Proclamation was tied to Howe's feminist belief that women had a responsibility to shape their societies at the political level

International Women's Day was celebrated for the first time in 28 February 1909, in the US,[11] by which time Anna Jarvis had already begun her national campaign in the US. It is now celebrated in many countries on March 8.

[edit] Spelling

In 1912, Anna Jarvis trademarked the phrases "second Sunday in May" and "Mother's Day", and created the Mother's Day International Association.[12][13]

"She was specific about the location of the apostrophe; it was to be a singular possessive, for each family to honour their mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world."[12]

This is also the spelling used by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in the law making official the holiday in the U.S., by the U.S. Congress on bills,[14][15] and by other U.S. presidents on their declarations.[16]

Common usage in English language also dictates that the ostensibly singular possessive "Mother's Day" is the preferred spelling, although "Mothers' Day" (plural possessive) is not unheard of.

[edit] Dates around the world

Moederdag (1925).ogv

Mother's Day in the Netherlands in 1925

As the US holiday was adopted by other countries and cultures, the date was changed to fit already existing celebrations honouring motherhood, like Mothering Sunday in the UK or the Orthodox celebration of Jesus in the temple in Greece. In some countries it was changed to dates that were significant to the majority religion, like the Virgin Mary day in Catholic countries, or the birthday of the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad in Islamic countries. Other countries changed it to historical dates, like Bolivia using the date of a certain battle where women participated.[17] See the "International history and traditions" section for the complete list.

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Osama Dead – Censored Video Leaked Wikileaks Video Facebook Spam

Today morning, a new kind of scam is spreading on Facebook where another fake Osama Bin Laden video is being circulated on Facebook. The new spam is spreading with the

"Watch the Osama Shoot Down video – Osama Dead – Censored Video Leaked – Osama is dead, watch this exclusive CNN video which was censored by Obama Administration due to level of violence, a must watch. Leaked by Wikileaks."

The scammers are using the name of the whistle blowing organization; Wikileaks, to make people think that the video is genuine. However, the video is a scam. Clicking on the link will take you to a fan page (which is being liked by more than 45K people right now) and ask you to complete a new 5 second security check before you can watch the video.

However, following the steps listed does nothing and the fan page will instead post a message to your wall and your friends with a link to the fan page. This Facebook scam is a bit different from yesterday as it does not ask users to fill out stupid surveys, but once this gets widespread it could exploit users differently.

Please be aware that this scam is also spreading under various other links including "Osama Bin Laden Execution Video", "Aljazira Newz – Ossama Biin Ladden Raid Video Scam" and "Shocking NEW VIDEO of Osama Bin Ladens DEATH!!!" among others. Do not click any link that claims to show you Osama Bin Laden’s videos or pictures, it is all a sham. I believe that this scam might be spreading in various other ways too and might go on for next few weeks.

As a precautionary measure, always check which applications you use and remove unwanted or suspicious ones. If you aren’t sure how to do it, you can always check our guide on removing apps from Facebook. In addition to that, don’t forget to check out our article about Avoiding Facebook Lifejacking and Clickjacking scams.

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Obama watched Bin Laden 'shot in left eye' on live video in White House

WASHINGTON: US president Barack Obama along with his high-level team, watched live coverage in the White House, as the commandos gunned down the world's most wanted terrorist Osama Bin Laden Via a video camera fixed to the helmet of a US Navy Seal.

Obama was watching the operation live when bin-Laden was shot in the left eye, the Daily Mail reports.

The Seal then carried out a 'double tap' military act, shooting him again, probably in the chest, to confirm that he was dead.

The footage of the battle in Bin Laden's Pakistani hideout, relayed to the White House by satellite, is believed to have shown one of his wives acting as a human shield to protect him as he blasted away with an AK47 assault rifle.

She died, along with three other men, including one of Bin Laden's sons.

Bin-Laden's body was buried at sea hours after Obama confirmed his death.

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Marathi Litterateur Jagdish Khebudkar Passes Away

Kolhapur (Maharashtra), May 3 (IANS): Renowned Marthi poet, lyricist and writer Jagdish Khebudkar passed away in a private hospital here Tuesday following a kidney ailment. He was 79.

Decorated with 11 state awards in different categories, Khebudkar had been ill for quite a while, an aide said. Khebudkar, who is survived by two sons and two daughters, breathed his last in a private hospital where he had been admitted a few days ago.

His last rites will be performed on the banks of the Panchganga river here Wednesday morning.

In a career spanning over six decades, Khebudkar authored over 3,750 poems, 2,500 songs for Marathi and Hindi movies, four teleserials for Doordarshan, five telefilms, several plays and other literature.

He penned songs for 350 films, including the Marathi versions of "Roja" and "He Ram".

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U.S. to close embassy in Pakistan

Osama bin Laden Andehe possible after the death of Taliban attacks in the U.S. and its Embassy in Pakistan currently Kaunslet is closed to the general public.

According to U.S. Embassy spokesman Rodrigj present U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi consulate for visa and other work has stopped until further orders.

U.S. Embassy and other necessary actions will be open to Kaunslet. U.S. fears that the death of bin Laden after Al Qaeda and the Taliban can attack U.S. installations.

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