Memorial Day can trace its roots to the days following the American Civil War.

The holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, originated as Decoration Day in 1868.

In those days, the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans, set aside time to decorate graves of the war dead with flowers.

In fact, some say late May was chosen because it's a time of year when flowers are blooming and readily available.

Similar traditions were observed in the South to honor the Confederate war dead.

Who was first?

When it comes to Memorial Day, many different towns lay claim to being the birthplace.

Folks in Warrenton, Virginia, claim that the first Civil War soldier's grave ever decorated was at that location on June 3, 1861.

There's also documentation that women in Savannah, Georgia, decorated Confederate soldiers' graves in 1862.

In 1863, a cemetery dedication at Gettysburg took place at the graves of dead soldiers.

Local historians in Boalsburg claim that ladies there decorated soldiers' graves on July 4, 1864.

On May 26, 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a proclamation naming Waterloo, New York, as the birthplace of Memorial Day. But it did little to solve the controversy.

Other communities staking a claim are: Carbondale, Illinois; Columbus, Georgia; and Columbus, Mississippi.

In view of this, it should be noted that the practice of decorating soldiers' graves with flowers is an ancient tradition.

Idea spreads

Memorial events were held in 183 cemeteries in 27 states in 1868. One year later, it grew to 336 cemeteries.

Michigan made "Decoration Day" an official state holiday in 1871 and, by 1890, every northern state had followed suit.

Ceremonies were sponsored by the Women's Relief Corps, the women's auxiliary of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), which had 100,000 members.

By 1870, the remains of nearly 300,000 Union dead had been reinterred in 73 national cemeteries, located near major battlefields.

The most famous are Gettysburg National Cemetery in Pennsylvania and Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C.

Locally, placing flags at veterans' graves is an annual ritual for many.

"We go to four different cemeteries," said Sherri Linkhorst, president, Tamaqua American Legion Ladies Auxiliary. The group placed more than 100 flags for the holiday.

Funeral directors, too, get involved in a similar tribute.

"We get a list of all veterans who've died since last Memorial Day, said Eric Zizelmann of Zizelmann-Gulla Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Tamaqua. "We'll go to Nesquehoning, Middleport and West Penn Township."

Holiday trivia

* Ironton, Ohio, claims the nation's oldest continuously running Memorial Day parade, begun May 5, 1868.

But even that claim is up for dispute. Right here in Pennsylvania, Doylestown residents say their parade tradition began in 1867.

* On Memorial Day, the flag is raised to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff, where it remains only until noon.

It's then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.

The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service to their country. At noon, their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice.

* Interestingly, some scholars cite Memorial Day observances as proof the U. S. has a secular "civil religion." They say it's a religion with no association to any specific religious denomination and one which has incorporated Memorial Day as a sacred event.

* Memorial Day remembers men and women who died while serving, not to be confused with Veterans Day, which celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans.

* The VFW conducted its first poppy distribution before Memorial Day in 1922, becoming the first veterans' organization to organize a nationwide distribution. The poppy soon was adopted as the official memorial flower of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.

Traditions continue to evolve.

At Sky-View Memorial Park in Rush Township, certain trees feature markers memorializing the veterans that did not come back alive or are missing in action from World War II. There are about 80 such markers purchased by veterans' families. The resting place, adorned by markers, not tombstones, is located along Route 54 in Hometown has 3,256 veterans interred at the site.