The unofficial start of summer has finally arrived with Memorial Day. But the holiday is more than just an early celebration of barbeques, beach days, and warmer temperatures.

Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday in May to honor military personnel who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Before celebrating the long weekend, learn more about Memorial Day by checking out some facts about the federal holiday below:

1. After the Civil War ended in 1865, the U.S. established its first national cemeteries. Americans held spring tributes to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers.

2. On May 30, 1868, the first Decoration Day was celebrated. General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a day of decorating the graves of soldiers who died while defending their country.

3. Logan chose May 30 as the designated date because he believed flowers would be in bloom nationwide.

4. The first Decoration Day was held at Arlington National Cemetery, where General James Garfield gave a speech, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of Civil War soldiers.

5. Waterloo observed the first Memorial Day on May 5, 1866. The celebration consisted of a community-wide event in which residents decorated the graves of soldiers and local businesses closed down for the festivities.

6. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day.

7. By 1971, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act went into effect, and Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday that would occur on the last Monday in May.

8. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act creates a three-day weekend for federal employees.

9. In December 2000, Congress passed the National Moment of Remembrance Act, to designate the significance of remembering the importance of the holiday.

10. Each Memorial Day at 3 p.m., the National Moment of Remembrance asks Americans to take a pause of silence to honor fallen soldiers.

11. While Decoration Day originally was a day of remembrances for soldiers who died in the Civil War, Memorial Day honors all soldiers who died in combat.

12. Arlington National Cemetery has between 27 and 30 funeral services each weekday.

13. Some of the largest parades that celebrate the federal holiday are held in Washington, D.C., New York, and Chicago.

14. Americans can observe Memorial Day by wearing a red poppy in remembrance as well as visiting cemeteries and memorials to honor fallen soldiers.

15. Memorial Day is sometimes confused with Veterans Day, which celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans.

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Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place American flags at the graves of U.S. soldiers buried in Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery in preparation for Memorial Day in 2012 in Arlington, Virginia. Getty Images
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