Memorial Day Weekend 2024: Events, Parades Around Yardley

YARDLEY, PA — The borough and Morrisville will hold holiday celebrations with Memorial Day parades and services over the three-day holiday weekend.

The upcoming Memorial Day service/parades in the Yardley area is part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

Below are some other events and parades nearby: list any events happening in nearby towns that make sense

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

Below are more ways to spend the weekend:

• Morrisville's Memorial Day Parade steps off from the Morrisville Presbyterian Church at 9 a.m. Monday. It concludes with a ceremony at the Morrisville Cemetery on South Pennsylvania Avenue. With the assistance of the Morrisville Fire Co., Morrisville Borough and the surrounding community, the celebration includes reenactors, active military, veterans, marching bands, and community organizations. Kids are also welcome to decorate their bikes and ride within the parade, according to organizers.
• On Monday, American Legion Post 317 in Yardley will begin Memorial Day observances at 7 a.m. with rifle salutes at sites throughout the borough and Lower Makefield, including veterans cemeteries, Borough Hall and the Lower Makefield veterans monument. At 9 a.m., the ceremony begins at the the Yardley monument at Afton and Delaware avenues. The Yardley-Makefield Memorial Day Parade follows at 11 a.m. from the Maplevale section of North Main Street. The parade will then march south on Main Street to the Yardley-Makefield American Legion Hall.
• On Sunday, Washington Crossing will hold its annual Memorial Day ceremony at 1 p.m. at the gravesite of Continental soldiers. The gravesite is located near the Thompson-Neely House, about two miles south of New Hope at the intersection of Route 32 and Aquetong Rd. (1638 River Road, New Hope). The observation will include a colonial color guard, a fife and drum corps, Revolutionary War reenactors, veterans, and other honored guests. During the ceremony, American flags will be placed on all of the graves.
• The 104th Memorial Day Parade in Langhorne will take place May 29, beginning with ceremonies on the lawn of the Jesse W. Soby American Legion Post 148, 115 W. Richardson Ave. The parade will commence immediately afterward and make a circuit through the main streets of Langhorne, including Bellevue and Maple Avenues and Pine Street (Route 413).

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.