Memorial Day Weekend 2023: Events, Parades Around The Lansdale Area

LANSDALE, PA — Numerous Memorial Day events, commemorations, and ceremonies are slated to take place in the greater Lansdale area and around Montgomery County this coming weekend.

Here's a glance at some of the bigger events:

Lansdale

The annual Lansdale Memorial Day parade will begin at 9 a.m. on Memorial Day at Main Street and Cotton Avenue. A ceremony will follow at Memorial Park.

Norristown

A Memorial Day observance will take place Sunday at the Historic Montgomery Cemetery, located on One Hartranft Avenue in Norristown. It begins at 11 a.m. Wreaths and rose petals will be laid, and local Boy Scout troops, Civil War reenactors, and local Masonic lodge members will be in attendance. It is organized by the Historical Society of Montgomery County.

Philadelphia

The Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center n Philadelphia will hold a celebration on Thursday, May 25 at noon.

Bucks County

The Bucks County Memorial Day Ceremony will be held on Friday May 27 at the World War I Memorial Fountain in Doylestown at Main and Broad streets. See the public flyer here.

History

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.