Travel Goals

1. Climb to Everest Base Camp.
2. Climb Mt Kilimanjaro.
3. Learn to Scuba Dive.
4. Visit every continent.
5. See the Galapagos Islands.
6. Sail down the Amazon River.
7. Climb Ayer's Rock.
8. Ride the Trans-Siberian.
9. Go into space.
10. Go wild at La Tomintina.
11. See the sunrise from Mt. Fuji.
12. Gaze at Borobudor.
13. Visit the Pyramids
14. Safari in East Africa.
15. Go to the World Cup!
16. See Machu Picchu.
17. Join the Century Club.
18. Visit Antarctica.
19. Do development work.
20. See Petra Jordan.
21. Backpack the Eastern Block.
22. See the Northern Lights.
23. Vegas Baby! Vegas!
24. Greek Island hop.
25. Cycle Tuscany.
26. Visit India.
27. Lounge in the Seychelles.
28. See Morocco.
29. Oktoberfest!
30. Caravan across the Sahara.
31. Visit Tibet.
32. Fly first class.
33. Go to Israel.
34. Carnival!!!!
35. Mardi Gras!
36. Cannes Film Festival.
37. Sundance Film Festival.
38. Eat a sushi meal at NOBU
39. Pacific Island hop.
40. Spend a night in the Ice Hotel.
41. See Glacier National Park.

Learn a Foreign Language

Are you planning to travel around Europe? Why not learn Italian or French before you go to maximize your experience.

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Today is Memorial Day in America. Memorial Day is a day in which we honor our fallen soldiers. It falls on the last Monday in May. In honor of day, here’s a history of holiday:

History of Memorial Day
Following the end of the American Civil War, many places set aside a day to honor the soldiers who died in the war. These observances eventually coalesced around Decoration Day, honoring the Union dead, and several Confederate Memorial Days.

Supposedly, the first memorial day was observed in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic race track in Charleston. The site was a former Confederate prison camp as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who died in captivity. The freed slaves reinterred the dead Union soldiers from the mass grave to individual graves, fenced in the graveyard & built an entry arch declaring it a Union graveyard. On May 30, 1887, slaves returned to the graveyard with flowers, thus creating the 1st Decoration Day. A parade with thousands of freed blacks and Union soldiers was followed by patriotic singing and a picnic.

However, the official birthplace of Memorial Day is Waterloo, New York. The village is credited as starting the holiday because it observed the day on May 5, 1866 and continued the tradition every year whereas previous celebrations were sporadic.

Waterloo resident General Logan had been impressed by the way the South honored their dead and decided the Union needed a similar day. Logan had been a speaker at a memorial observation on April 29, 1866 in Carbondale, Illinois, an event that gave him the idea to make it a national holiday. On May 5, 1868, as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veteran’s organization, Logan issued a proclamation stating that “Decoration Day” be observed nationwide. It was observed for the first time on May 30 that year. The date was chosen because no battle had occurred on that day.

Many of the states of the U.S. South refused to celebrate Decoration Day due to lingering hostility towards the Union Army and also because there were very few veterans of the Union Army who lived in the South.

The alternative name of “Memorial Day” was first used in 1882, but only become common after World War II. It was declared the official name by Federal law in 1967 . On June 28, 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved three holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend. The change moved Memorial Day to the last Monday in May. Memorial Day has endured as one holiday during which most businesses stay closed because it marks the beginning of the “summer vacation season.”

Memorial Day Celebrations
Most American families celebrate this day with a BBQ or picnic. Numerous sporting events that occur, the most famous being the Indianapolis 500. If the weather is nice, a lot of people go to the beach. Moreover, since it is a three day weekend, many families also go away. (The holiday also starts the summer driving season.) This usually means they will go visit relatives, head to a national park, camp in the woods, or visit a beach.

Towns usually sponsor parades honoring those who have served in battle. The President holds a ceremony at Arlington Cemetery in Washington D.C. and a national moment of remembrance occurs at 3 p.m. Eastern Time.

Memorial Day an important day in America and one in which we honor those who have served.

4 Responses to “A History of Memorial Day”

1. christine gilbert on May 26th, 2008 9:25 pm

   I was worried about the comments, because it seemed like I couldn’t post any the other day…

2. Amanda on May 26th, 2008 11:46 pm

   This is just what I needed to read, Matt! I was wondering about Memorial Day because from down here in Oz all I knew about it was that some of my blogs had the day off. It’s similar to our Anzac Day (except that we get cookies!) Good to know.

3. Sherrie on May 27th, 2008 11:30 am

   Off topic yet on….

   Hey Matt, this is a little off topic for the post, but on topic for your blog. I wrote about ESL in Germany on Gypsy when I first got here:

   http://www.gypsyprincess.info/?p=638

   Keep reading after the picture, there is more, but some people missed it, I guess their browser made it look like there was nothing after the pic. I just wanted to break the whole thing up a little.

   I also wrote that before the money kicked in. Since then I have done the time I spoke about, and now money is no longer a problem. BUT its common with most teachers.

   You can make money in Germany, but you need to work a lot and be willing to find your own private students. Most of my students are private and therefore the pay is much better. The nice thing is your a freelancer, which means holidays pretty much whenever you want. But there are still bad days, like yesterday which I wrote about on my other blog

   http://stickyapplekisses.com/?p=178

   (yes I have two because I take paid posts and I found Gypsy was getting a little chocked with them).

   On average most people make about 2000 Euros a month here, however when you count travel time they put in 50 hour weeks. BUT as freelancers you get to take all your expenses and use them against your taxes.

   Anyway take a read and any specific questions I would be more than happy to answer!

4. American Independence Day | Nomadic Matt's Travel Site on October 8th, 2008 8:46 am

   [...] Celebrations, fireworks, and barbecues are taking place in every corner of the land. Just like with Memorial Day, today’s blog will be about the [...]

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