Good Question: What’s the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day?

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - As we head into the holiday weekend, you may wonder why we have a three-day weekend. That’s the topic of today’s Good Question.

Today’s Good Question is, “What’s the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day?”

Both holidays honor people who have served in the armed forces. Veterans Day honors everyone who has served, while Memorial Day is for those who died in military service.

Memorial Day is the older of the two holidays and dates back to just after the Civil War, 1866, when the town of Waterloo, New York hosted a city-wide “Decoration Day.”

Two years later, 5,000 National Decoration Day participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

That tradition eventually became Memorial Day, and in 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. That established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May.

So, while we may be planning cookouts or pool parties, it is also a day to remember the sacrifices of those who served our country.

If you have a Good Question you’d like us to try to answer, send it to goodquestion@wkyt.com.

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