Memorial Day Weekend 2024: Events Around Tewksbury

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

The parade in Tewksbury is the highlight of the three-day Memorial Day Weekend — May 25-27 this year.

Tewksbury will host a Memorial Day Ceremony and Parade. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Monday and the parade will follow at 11 a.m. More information is available here.

The Reading Memorial Day parade begins 9 a.m. on Monday. The parade begins at the American Legion on Ash Street. It will be followed by services at local cemeteries. More information is available here.

Burlington will host a Memorial Day Ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday at the Veterans' Section of Chestnut Hill Cemetery. A flag placement at veterans' graves will be Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. More information is available here.

As the observance has changed over the years, many families also use Memorial Day as an occasion to visit Tewksbury 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.