Leviticus 23:23-25--A Memorial Day
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And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them
In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath
a memorial day of blowing the trumpets
a holy convocation
You shall do no regular work on that day
But you shall make an offering that passes through the fire
You shall make an offering unto the Lord
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At least two dozen cities, towns, and villages, claim to have been the first to observe Memorial Day
In 1865 the civil war officially ended
In the spring of 1866 wives and mothers, fathers and sons and daughters, sisters and brothers were left to remember the fallen and rebuild the nation
The graveyards united North and South, old and young, rich and poor, black and white and Native and Asian Americans
On the first Easter it was the women who came first to the grave to honor their memory of Jesus
It was women who came first to lay those first flowers on the graves of 1866
They laid flowers on the graves of known and unknown, friend and foe alike
Their tears and devotion united the nation
The memory was too sacred to exclude anyone
The healing was in the memory
Today our land needs healing again
Let your memories start the healing