Memorial Day

I looked up Memorial Day (MD) on Google.  I wanted to see when it started, why, and how it ended up as a national cookout day.  Well as they say, you can't believe everything you read on the internet. 

MD was started by President Grant to bring the country together after the Civil War.  MD was a day to honor both sides.  MD was a day started by freed slaves and or black freeman  in the deep South to honor fallen Union soldiers.  MD was a day to commemorate the opening of a military cemetery.  Memorial Day was started . . .      The general consensus is Memorial Day is a day to honor our military who have given their lives for our nation.  Google it yourself and see what you can learn.

We all know of someone who died in a war.  From WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm to today in Iraq and Afghanistan, we have all been touched, hurt, devastated by a military death. And then there are all the battles that don't get called wars.  The battles we send in our young military people to handle.  Memorial Day is the time to honor the ones we lost. 

But how did MD become a cookout holiday and a vacation starter?  Google wasn't much help with that question.  So I will propose some theories and you may discuss.

Americans are getting a day off work, that always calls for a party. 
School is out or close to out.  Families factor in the paid holiday and take off on a trip.
Stores put on promotions for "cookout" foods and related items. You know hamburger, beer, cars, towels. We all jump on the bandwagon.
June is in a few days, that means summer fun.  What is more fun than a cookout?
Cookouts are more fun that a memorial service in a church or cemetery.
Big Business jumps on every holiday and destroys the true meaning.
Getting together is a way to remember our military.  Americans always use food as a reason to gather.

None or all of these may be why Memorial Day is now a cookout day and the beginning to summer trips .  The reason we gather doesn't matter, as long as we remember our military heroes.