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Health & Fitness

Why do we celebrate Memorial Day?

Young people may not know it, but Memorial Day was once called 'Decoration Day' . Families, friends and fellow servicemen would go to cemeteries and literally 'decorate' the grave sites of fallen soldiers with flowers, often beautiful red poppies. Why poppies? These flowers were the first to bloom in many of the fields of Belgium and France where great battles were fought in WWI. They were a poignant, bright reminder of the cycle of rebirth and destruction that comes out of war. Today, Decoration Day is called "Memorial Day", and we celebrate it to remember those who died in military service of our country. Read a book, watch a movie, thank a vet, or ask questions about war from someone you know who served.

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