Memorial Day Weekend 2024: Events And Parades Around Seaford-Wantagh

SEAFORD/WANTAGH, NY — The annual Seaford Memorial Day Parade begins at 9:30 a.m. on Monday.

Marchers will start on Merrick Road and head north on Washington Avenue to the 4 Chaplains Monument in front of Seaford Middle School.

A memorial ceremony will follow.

The Seaford Wellness Council will be giving away holiday-themed necklaces along the parade route.

In Wantagh, American Legion Post 1273 hosts the community's annual parade. It starts at 10 a.m. on the corner of Beltagh Avenue and Wantagh Avenue. The parade heads south to Park Avenue where to turns east and continues to the Wantagh American Legion Hall (3484 Park Avenue).

A Memorial Day ceremony will follow at the hall.

Some of the other nearby parades and activities:

• Rockville Centre
• Hempstead
• Farmingdale
• Levittown
• New York City
• Huntington
• Wantagh
• Long Beach

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