Memorial Day Weekend 2024: Parade, Ceremonies Around Northampton

NORTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP, PA — The upcoming Memorial Day ceremony in Northampton Township is 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 the township will honor the memory of those who died with its annual ceremony at Robert Demboski Jr. Veterans Memorial Park. The ceremony is the highlight of the three-day Memorial Day Weekend - May 25 to 27 this year.

The ceremony begins at 8 a.m. with a flag raising ceremony by the Marine Corps League Patriot Detachment in front of the Northampton Township Building at 55 Township Road, Richboro. Two plaques installed on the Veterans Memorial Walkway also will be unveiled. At 9 a.m., a ceremony will be held at Robert Demboski Jr. Veterans Memorial Park at Route 332 and 232 in Richboro. The ceremony is presented by the board of supervisors and the township's Veterans Advisory Commission.

In other observances:

• Ivyland Borough will pay its respects Monday, May 27 with a Memorial Day Parade and ceremony. The borough's annual parade will kick off at 8 a.m. Monday from the Ivyland Schoolhouse on Willard Avenue and wind through the streets of historic Ivyland. It will end with a ceremony at the Veterans Memorial at Wilson and Pennsylvania Avenues.
• This year's Warminster Township Memorial Day Parade is expected to feature a furry friend known to all in the Philly region. The Phillie Phanatic — the mascot for the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies — is among the "variety of entertainment" planned for the annual holiday event. The Warminster VFW Post 6493 & Auxiliary has once again put together this year's parade, which will begin at the Warminster Township administrative building on Monday, May 27. The parade will begin with a ceremony at 10 a.m. in front of the Warminster Township Building (401 Gibson Ave.) before stepping off and heading down Henry Avenue, York Road, and Street Road, ending with a celebration at the VFW on Louis Drive, where food and drink will be available.

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