Memorial Day Trivia

Memorial Day trivia for everyone, there is no prize to be won here, but perhaps you will learn something and that is our reward. The answers to these trivia questions follow the questions.

1. What was the first state, which officially celebrated Memorial Day?

2. Originally, Memorial Day was first known as what, the hint is the day begins with the letter d.

3. Why do we celebrate Memorial Day?

4. Who is General John Alexander Logan and what role does his memory play in our Memorial Day 

celebrations?

5. On this special day of remembrance, should the American Flag be half raised all-day or fly in all her glory at full mast?

6. What is the nationally recognized flower of Memorial Day?

7. What day of the week is Memorial Day held on?

Memorial day is not all about the heralding of warm summer months as most people believe but a day of remembrance to honor those who gave their lives so that all Americans could enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit if happiness.

Most Americans will spend this day, with family and friends in the afternoon having the first picnics of the season, and enjoying the warm weather. In the morning, most of us will go to the graves of our grandparents and lay flowers while offering a prayer.

My Grandfather Elliott Timm served in Germany during the war, and I will visit his grave to lay flowers there, but I will also lay flowers Grandma Doris Timm's grave as well which in next to grandpa's. I could not imagine honoring only my grandfather on this special day and ignoring grandma's.

Here are the answers to the trivia questions for this special Memorial Day learning activity.

1. New York was the first state, which officially celebrated Memorial Day in 1968, making it the birthplace of this holiday.

2. Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day and it celebrated the memory of those soldiers who had died serving the country during the civil war. Southern states rejected to celebrate those fallen soldiers on Memorial Day until after WWI when the meaning of Memorial Day changed from honoring to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war either at home or aboard.

3. Memorial Day is a day of commemoration of those who have died fighting for the freedom of every American.

4. General John Alexander Logan declared that Memorial Day is to be observed by decorating the gravestones of soldiers who died while fighting for our freedom. He was a man of passion who believed that no one should be forgotten for the scarf ices they gave so that all of us could enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy.

5. On Memorial Day Old Glory should be at flown at half-mast until noon, then she should be raised to the fly at full mast.

6. Red Poppies are recognized as the Memorial Day flower these littler red flowers were first worn back in 1915 to honor fallen soldiers. When you see the folks from the VFW selling the red poppies out side of your local stores, purchase one and wear it proudly for those who died giving us our freedom.

7. This holiday is always celebrated on the last Monday of the month of May and has been this way since 1971 when the National Holiday Act of 1971changed it from May 30 to the last Monday.

Sources include:

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyseneca/memorial.htm

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Memorial Day Party-- Organize your own

Are you hosting a Memorial Day party this year or will you just be sitting back and enjoying it with family and friends? I have a few ideas to share with you about how to have a safe yet fun Memorial Day party this year with everyone you love.

I have a huge family and we do have holiday parties for all of us, and let me tell you we are a huge family. Four generations of the Timm family will be gathering at my parents' home in Athens, Pennsylvania to celebrate and have a Memorial Day party. Let me tell you organizing something for this huge family at times is a monumental task, but with everyone doing their part it all seems to work out somehow.

Sister Carmon is organizing the food for the Memorial Day party this year; she keeps a list of who is coming and what they are bringing. Family will supply the main food, and friends of the family will bring in the condiments, paper plates, cups, and silverware.

Sisters Lori and Diane are organizing the games for the younger children as they tend to have the most grandchildren of all of us at this Memorial Day party. There are prizes won in these games, my sisters will purchase the stuffed animal prizes, and we will all chip in for the prizes. Games will include tossing a ball, running and a variation of an Easter egg hunt for the toddlers to 6 year olds.

Sister Kim and her boyfriend Bob are organizing the Memorial Day party games for the kids from 6 year old and up. These games include volleyball, redneck horseshoes, and an obstacle course. An older person helps the younger ones, so it is a team effort and the kids tend to have a ball.

There will no doubt be a live band at our Memorial Day party, as brother Trace, and brother in law Willy have a band and will use this as a practice session. After dark, we will gather around a bonfire, if the burning ban has lifted and sing around the bonfire.

I will be creating the Memorial Day party invitations on my computer and Ray will help me hand them out 3 weeks before the party to may family. I will give each family member a few extra invitations so that they can invite a few friends. This years invitations include a mention of the new family members we have gotten since the last summer, which is four little boys.

I also include updates to the family tree during this time, as it is important to remember where we all came from at this Memorial Day party. As our family grows rapidly, each year it is harder to keep everyone in touch and by adding this family tree update, it is easier. Mom and dad help me to organize this family tree and they include little stories about our ancestors, which are fun to read.

This year marks the first time that all the family will be at a Memorial Day party, as my youngest brother and his rather large family of nine just moved back to Athens. The family has decided to let these people sit back and enjoy the Memorial Day party, but next year they too will be in the planning of this fun family celebration.

There will be no alcohol at this Memorial Day party as it is a family day, where we all gather to have fun the old-fashioned way. There will however be plenty of laughter, water balloon races, food and music with family and friends and that is what a Memorial Day party should be.

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Remembering Those who Died Memorial Day

Remembering loved ones who have passed on is a great thing to do on Memorial Day, yet some people find them selves doing the same things year after year. There are alternatives to placing flowers on gravestones, yet many people do this simply because it is tradition.

This year as you are remembering loved ones who have passed start a new tradition in that person's memory. On Memorial Day instead of adding flowers to the gravestone, plant a flower garden on your property in memory of that person. Plant that person's favorite flowers and this way as you take care of the flower garden you will be reminded of that person.

Memorial Day is the perfect time to plant a tree or shrub as you are remembering loved ones who have passed, as the frost is out of the ground in 99 percent of the United States. What a better way to show you love someone then by planting a tree in their name, you can look at the tree and always remember why you planted it.

If you are remembering loved ones who have passed and were members of a volunteer fire company or quilting club why not make Memorial Day donation in their name. This not only helps an organization that that person enjoyed, it also helps your community and lasts a lot longer then cut flowers.

If you are remembering loved ones who have passed and enjoyed books, donate one that you know they would enjoy to the local library in their name, or better yet sit down and share a children's book at story hour that reminds you of that person on Memorial Day.

At your Memorial Day party start by remembering loved ones who have passed, share funny stories about them. Tell the younger generation about interesting things. There is no better way to keep the memories alive then by passing those memories onto the younger generation.

You could also share a time of special remembering loved ones who have passed with the traditional foods you serve at your Memorial Day party. There is always a pot of Uncle Bill's beans on the table, and a cake from scratch as my Grandma Wright would have made. There are always barbecue ribs, as my Grandpa Timm loved; we even use his special family recipe.

I hope that I have given you the inspiration to begin a new Memorial Day tradition of remembering loved ones who have passed on.

Memorial Day Weekend FREE Graphics

Are you looking for free Memorial Day weekend graphics to dress up your MySpace page or personal web pages? I have plenty of web sites, which may have just the perfect images you are looking for.

The best site to find free Memorial Day weekend graphics without a doubt is wonder cliparts web site, which are perfect for your MySpace profile. This site is very popular simply because it is where the best images are. There is a great collection of all types of images here.

The Holiday Graphics web site is all about holidays, and this makes it a great site for those people who wish to decorate their web pages. You will find a decent size section free Memorial Day weekend graphics here. Not only will you find all types of images here you will also find wallpapers to dress up your computers desktop.

Hellas Multimedia has some of the best patriot clipart found on the internet and these images make the perfect free Memorial Day weekend graphics for any of your needs. If you are creating a MySpace or general web page in memory of a solider these are the perfect images. There are all sorts of web site clipart here from buttons to lines and everything in between.

J S Magic is a unique web site dedicated to the heroes who have given their lives so that we may live in freedom. You will find inspiring free Memorial Day weekend graphics within the server of this web site.

WTV-Zone is not just another web site, which has free Memorial Day weekend graphics. All four branches of the United States Military are represented within the pages of this site, in full color. You will also find 911 clipart along with other holiday images.

Anne's Place is a very well designed web site where you can get tons of free Memorial Day weekend graphics as well as other graphics and backgrounds for your web pages. The fantasy and angel images are outstanding and unique!

Zingerbug has a great selection of free Memorial Day weekend graphics, which are perfect for your myspace profiles, or personal web pages. This web site also includes plenty of messages for the holidays as well as the glitter images, which are so popular on the internet these days.

Plenty of web sites on the internet offer free Memorial Day weekend graphics to anyone who wish to use them. Remember to save the images onto your own computer, so you are not a bandwidth hog and your web pages will load quicker.

Free Memorial Day weekend graphics sources include:

www.wondercliparts.com/

www.holidaygraphics.com/memorial

www.hellasmultimedia.com/webimages/memorial/default.htm

www.jsmagic.net/memorial/

www.wtv-zone.com/AnniesTreasures/patriotic.html

www.d21c.com/AnnesPlace/MemorialDay.html

www.zingerbug.com/holidays/MemorialDay/

Memorial Day Coloring Pages Free

Free Memorial Day coloring pages are great to keep children entertained as you prepare for the picnic and cook outs this year.

Apples 4 the teacher is a wonderful site where you can download all sorts of things to keep the children entertained and there is a great selection of free Memorial Day coloring pages. One will also find word searches, puzzles and many more things that can be printed off and use to enrich a child's mind.

Kid Printables also has a huge collection of free Memorial Day coloring pages, puzzles, and paper based games that anyone can print off and enjoy. There are also word scrambles on this site so there is something for everyone here.

The home schooling section on about.com has plenty of activities for the home schooled child to enjoy and a nice selection of free Memorial Day coloring pages as well as games and a few lessons on the holiday itself.

First School is a lot more then just free Memorial Day coloring pages; it is a history of the United States for preschoolers and kindergarteners. This web site has a patriotic theme and is a great way to introduce the history of this great nation to the littlest Americans.

Activitycoloringpages is a great site, which includes dot-to-dot activities, and word based puzzles galore. There is a great selection of free Memorial Day coloring pages for your child to enjoy.

Annie's Home Page is full of fun activities for your children with plenty of free Memorial Day coloring pages, puzzles and much more. There is also a nice selection of related screensavers, wallpapers to decorate your computer for the holiday as well.

Enchanted Learning web site has plenty of free Memorial Day coloring pages, which are perfect for preschoolers to elementary school aged children. You will also find a nice selection of crafts to help your child learn about this important holiday.

Free Memorial Day coloring pages are an outstanding way to educate your child about the holiday, and all you need to supply is the crayons, markers, or pencils. Let the fun begin soon in your home.

Free Memorial Day coloring pages are also a great way to have drawing contests during the holiday celebrations and this keeps the children busy as the adults play horseshoes or sit. You can offer prizes for and category as long as every child gets a surprise.

Free Memorial Day coloring pages sources include:

www.apples4theteacher.com/coloring-pages/memorial-day/index.html

www.kidprintables.com/coloring/memorialday/index.shtml

www.homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/memorialprint_8.htm

www.first-school.ws/theme/cp_h_usapatriotic.htm

www.activitycoloringpages.com/2007/05/24/memorial-day-coloring-page/

www.annieshomepage.com/memorialdaykids.html

www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/memorialday/

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