Memorial Day Weekend 2024: Events, Parades Around Port Washington

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — Port Washington's upcoming Memorial Day ceremony and parade are part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

On Monday, May 27, American Legion Post 509 and VFW Henderson-Marino Post 1819, together with the Port Washington Fire Department, the Port Washington and Sands Point Police, and members of the community will march from Campus Drive to the Sousa Bandshell. Grand Marshal is Pete Graven. A Memorial Day ceremony will take place following the parade. Volunteers from the Port Washington Chamber of Commerce will give out hand-held flags to spectators before the parade starts at 10 a.m.

The oldest Memorial Day parade on Long Island is in Hempstead. This Sunday will be the village's 139th annual parade.

Some of the other nearby parades and activities:

• Glen Cove
• Farmingdale
• Rockville Centre
• New York City
• Huntington
• Wantagh
• Long Beach

For fun, there's the annual Memorial Weekend Carnival at the Huntington YMCA, scheduled for Friday to Monday.

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