Monday 5/27/24
Memorial Day! It’s the unofficial start of Summer, but don’t forget what the day is about. Take a moment and remember and say Thanks to our service men and women.
There's an exact moment of remembrance on Memorial Day. At 3:00 P.M. local time, we're supposed to pause and remember the brave men and women who died in service to our nation.
Memorial Day Facts:
It was called Decoration Day from 1868 to 1970. It didn't become "Memorial Day" until 1971. That's also when we began observing it on the last Monday of May.
The Department of Veterans Affairs says that Memorial Day is celebrated in late May because it's when flowers are likely to be blooming across the country.
The day was originally set aside to remember Union soldiers who died during the Civil War, but following World War I, its scope expanded to include those who died in any war or military action. At the end of the Civil War, many U.S. cities held their own memorial observations for their hometown heroes.
The Ironton-Lawrence Memorial Day Parade in Ironton, Ohio, is the oldest continuously-running Memorial Day parade in the nation, beginning back in 1868. The parade WAS held in 2020 during the height of COVID, but it took place with no spectators and it lasted 17 minutes when it usually lasts a couple of hours.
The bugle call "Taps" is typically performed at military funerals as well as the annual Memorial Day wreath ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. And it was adapted from a separate Civil War bugle call known as "Scott Tattoo", which was used to signal lights out.
Poppies are associated with those who died during wartime since World War I. In the U.S., people wear the red poppy on Memorial Day to honor those who died trying to protect the country, according to The Department of Veterans Affairs. In Canada, poppies are worn on Remembrance Day, November 11th.
The red color is not a symbol of blood, death, or support for war. Instead, poppies were the only flowers that grew in war-torn battlefields. When the countrysides were nothing but mud and devastation, poppy flowers sprouted up and flourished. The sight of the red poppies inspired one Canadian soldier, Colonel John McCrae, to pen the poem In Flanders Fields in May 1915.
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Celebrate:
Cellophane Tape Day
National Grape Popsicle Day
National Gray Day
Nothing to Fear Day
Old-Time Player Piano Day
Sunscreen Protection Day
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44% of Americans plan to barbecue over Memorial Day weekend.
Memorial Day places 2nd in beer sales, with July 4th first and Labor Day 3rd.
818 – Number of hot dogs consumed every second from Memorial Day to Labor Day (seven billion total).
$1.6 Billion in sales of meat for Memorial Day.
National BBQ day was May 16th..but July 4th is the champion holiday for a BBQ. Memorial Day is tied with Labor Day as second, and Father's Day is 4th!
A poll asked people what they think they're the BEST at grilling, and not surprisingly, BURGERS were #1. Also not surprisingly, MEAT SUBSTITUTES were dead last, behind FRUIT. Here's the list:
1. Burgers . . . 45% think they're the best at handling burgers.
2. Chicken . . . 43%
3. Hot dogs . . . 43%
4. Steak . . . 40%
5. Ribs . . . 32%
6. Fish . . . 29%
7. Veggies . . . 28%
8. Shellfish . . . 24%
9. Fruit . . . 24%
10. Meat substitutes, like veggie burgers, tofu, and tempeh . . . 22%
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Check out the web version of this briefing, along with The Anniversary Song of the Day and more content, on the web at https://bribriny.wixsite.com/brianbriefing