Memorial Day Weekend 2024: Ways To Observe Around Naperville

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

Naperville's 2024 Memorial Day Parade is the highlight of the three-day Memorial Day Weekend — May 25-27 this year.

Below is a roundup of events and parades nearby.

Naperville Memorial Day Parade

May 27 at 10:30 a.m.

Naperville's 2024 Memorial Day Parade will step off at 10:30 a.m. from Centennial Beach. The parade will make its way east on Jackson before turning north onto Main Street and then east on Benton. The parade will come to a close on Court Street near Central Park, where a remembrance ceremony will be held at 12 p.m.

Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremonies in Naperville

Naperville has several ceremonies planned to honor fallen service members on Memorial Day. Below, you'll find a list of the May 27 ceremonies.

7:45 a.m. at the Cmdr. Dan Shanower 9-11 Memorial at Naperville Municipal Center

8:15 a.m. at G.A.R. Monument at Naperville Cemetery's south end

9 a.m. at St. Peter and Paul Cemetery, 911 North Ave.

9:25 a.m. at Burlington Square, 307 N. Ellsworth St.

12 p.m. at Central Park, 104 E. Benton Ave.

Vietnam Memorial Wall Replica at College of DuPage

May 29 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. May 30 - June 2 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

A scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall will be on display at College of DuPage starting May 29.
Built to 3/5 of the size of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall, the traveling wall includes over 58,000 names listed on the original wall.

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

Memorial Day Weekend is also the unofficial kickoff to summer in Naperville. Below are more ways to spend the weekend:

• Visit Centennial Beach, which opened for the 2024 season on May 24
• Play Minigolf at Wonder Woods Minigolf at Morton Arboretum, which opens May 24, but is closed to observe Memorial Day

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.