2023 Sayville Memorial Day Parade: Highlight Of Weekend Events

SAYVILLE-BAYPORT, NY— The upcoming Memorial Day service/parade in the Sayville-Bayport area is part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

The Sayville 2023 Memorial Day Parade and Ceremonies on Monday, May 29 is the highlight of the three-day Memorial Day Weekend — May 27-29 this year.

It will start at 9 a.m. from Saint Lawrence the Martyr Roman Catholic Church, located at 240 W Main St. It will continue to the Sayville Fire Department firehouse. A wreath dedication ceremony will then take place with the American Legion.

Below are some other events and parades nearby.

As the observance has changed over the years, many families also use Memorial Day as an occasion to visit local 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 Babylon. Below are more ways to spend the weekend:

• Memorial Day Food Festival
  • May 26 to 29
  • Tanger Outlets in Deer Park
• MDW White Party at Fire Island Beach House
  • May 27
  • Fire Island
• Heckscher State Park Century Ride
  • May 27
  • East Islip
• East Islip
• Memorial Day Sunday Dance Party
  • May 28
  • Ocean Bay Park, Fire Island
• Memorial Day Block Party
  • May 29
  • Tanger Outlets in Deer Park

• Suburban Brothers Band at Bayside Clam Bar
  • May 29
  • East Islip Marina
• Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach
  • May 29
• Patchogue Fire Dept Memorial Day Weekend Carnival
  • May 25 to May 29
• "Off Day" MAD Activity Camp For Kids
  • May 29
  • Bay Shore

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.