Memorial Day Weekend 2023: Things To Do In Melrose

MELROSE, MA — The upcoming Memorial Day service/parade in Melrose is part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

The Melrose Memorial Day Parade at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 28 at Memorial Hall is the highlight of the three-day Memorial Day Weekend — May 27-29 this year.

The parade will step off from Memorial Hall located at 590 Main Street at 1:30 p.m. The parade will continue down Main Street, with stops at Pine Banks where children will be reunited with families. The parade will then continue down Main Street and arrive at Wyoming Cemetery, at which point the main Memorial Day ceremony will be held by the Melrose Veterans Advisory Board and Veterans Services Department. Participants will be required to assemble in the municipal parking lot behind Memorial Hall at approximately 1 p.m., however, those with floats and antique cars will be required to assemble in front of Memorial Hall at 12:30 p.m.

Below are some other events happening in Melrose for Memorial Day weekend:

• Memorial Day Assembly on Friday, 26 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School.
• Memorial Day Decoration of Graves & Flag Retirement Ceremony on Saturday, May 27 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Wyoming Cemetery, located at 205 Sylvan St.
• Veterans’ Memorial Day Breakfast on Sunday, May 28 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Memorial Hall located at 590 Main St.
• Vietnam Veterans Reflection Area Brick Dedication Ceremony on Sunday, May 28 at 11:00 a.m. at The Knoll on Lynn Fells Parkway across from Melrose High.
• Vietnam War Memorial Ceremony on Sunday, May 28 from 11:45 am. to 12:00 p.m. at the city's Vietnam War Memorial located on Main St. by Ell Pond.
• Memorial Day Honor Roll Ceremony on Sunday, May 28 from 12:00 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. at the Honor Roll located on Main St at the Coolidge School.
• Memorial Day Closing Ceremonies on Sunday, May 28 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Wyoming Cemetery, Sylvan St., at the Civil War Memorial and the Veterans section.
• Memorial Day Collation for Veterans: VFW Post 1506 on Sunday, May 28 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 428 Main St.

As the observance has changed over the years, many families also use Memorial Day as an occasion to visit Melrose cemeteries and leave flowers at the graves of family members, regardless of whether they served in the military.

The history of Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, dates back to 1868, when Gen. John A. Logan called for a day of remembrance to honor the Northern lives lost amid battle during the Civil War that had ended just a few years earlier, according to History.com. As time passed, more and more people called it Memorial Day, and it became a federal holiday in 1971.

Waterloo, New York, is considered the birthplace of Memorial Day. The town’s observance on May 5, 1866, predated Logan’s call for a day of remembrance. Local businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers and flags.

Until World War I, the holiday honored only those soldiers who died while fighting for the Union in the War, as Southern states honored their war dead on a separate day. After the 116,000-plus American deaths in World War I, the tradition changed to remember all who have died while serving in the military.

Every year, a national moment of remembrance is held at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. No matter where they are or what they’re doing, Americans are asked to pause for one minute in silence to remember military personnel who have given their lives in service to their country. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the midday time was chosen because it’s a time when many Americans will be enjoying their freedoms on a national holiday.