Decoration Day & Historic Baseball

Explore the origins and meaning of Memorial Day! Saturday, May 23 • 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Memorial Day began in 1868 as a day called Decoration Day. More than 600,000 soldiers had died during the American Civil War, and their families did not want anyone to forget their sacrifice. On Decoration Day, these families went to the graveyard with flowers and flags to decorate the graves of their soldiers who had died. Today, we honor all fallen soldiers on Memorial Day, not just those who died in the Civil War. Families still go to cemeteries to remember family members who are gone. You can see what Decoration Day might have looked like over 100 years ago. Ceremony to Honor Civil War Dead • New Hope Cemetery • 1 p.m.