The Best Patriotic Ways For Americans To Celebrate Memorial Day With Friends And Family
For many Americans, Memorial Day weekend is the official start of summer—even though summer doesn’t actually begin until the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere around the 21st of June.
This is a day of remembrance for sure, but it’s also a day of celebration. People all across the United States celebrate this holiday in a variety of ways. Most people will have some sort of barbecue or picnic for this holiday, while others will observe it in other ways.
If you’re having a hard time trying to figure out exactly how you should celebrate Memorial Day, then allow us to use this opportunity to give you a few ideas. We’ve rounded up our favorite Memorial Day celebrations and placed them below so that everyone will have a chance to do something meaningful and/or fun on this day.
Donate Flowers To A Soldier’s Grave
A great way to celebrate this holiday and to honor the brave men and women who have served is to donate to the Memorial Day Flowers Foundation. This organization helps to supply flowers to some of the 350,000 interred veterans at Arlington National Cemetery. The more people who donate, the more graves they can cover.
Tour The White House (Virtually)
Another great way to observe Memorial Day is to take a virtual tour of the White House. This immersive 360-degree virtual tour allows everyone to check all the public rooms on the ground and state floors of the White House. And it’s a lot less of a hassle to check it out online than it is to visit it in person—trust us. To do so, all you have to do is visit www.whitehousehistory.org, and you’re ready for a virtual field trip.
Make A Patriotic Donation To A Worthy Cause
This is also a good day to donate some cash to a worthy veterans’ charity. There are dozens upon dozens of worthy organizations to donate to, but we’ve got 9 excellent examples. Below are some of the veteran organizations that are doing good work.
- The Gary Sinise Foundation
- Special Operations Warrior Foundation
- Freedom Service Dogs of America
- Operation Second Chance
- Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society
- Operation Homefront
- Air Warrior Courage Foundation
- Fisher House Foundation
- Semper Fi Fund
Support The Overseas Coupon Program (OCP)
Another way to support veterans and their families is to clip coupons and send them to the Overseas Coupon Program. All people have to do is head to ocpnet.org and choose a base from the base list. They can then follow the instructions on the Adoptions Page to adopt that base. They can then mail their manufacturer’s coupons to that base so that the soldiers and their families can use them to save money at the military commissaries.
Check Out A Patriotic Movie
Another way to enjoy Memorial Day is to watch a patriotic movie. There are dozens of movies that cover American wars of the past and the veterans who served in those wars. Below is a small list of just some of the movies that people can watch on Memorial Day.
- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
- Black Hawk Down (2001)
- Lone Survivor (2013)
- Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
Watch Band Of Brothers
Another way to spend Memorial Day is to watch Band of Brothers. This 2001 HBO mini-series follows the story of the US Army airborne division known as Easy Company through their missions during World War II. This series is considered to be one of the best depictions of World War II and is loved by both critics and audiences alike.
All you have to do is check out its Rotten Tomatoes scores to see if we’re telling the truth. Band of Brothers has a 97% critics rating and a 96% average audience score.
Visit A Local Cemetery
No matter where a person lives, they probably have some close family members who have passed away and are now resting at a local cemetery. This is the perfect day for people to keep the memories of these loved ones alive by visiting their graves and placing flowers and/or flags on them.
Post A Meaningful Message On Social Media
No matter where you are or what you’re doing, you can post a message on social media for Memorial Day. All you have to do is use the hashtag #MemorialDay with a meaningful patriotic quote. You can easily find quotes to post online at any number of different sites.
Have A Barbecue Or Picnic
Americans love to celebrate with food, and this holiday is no exception to this rule. Everyone can use this holiday to enjoy their favorite foods. For some people, it might be sandwiches or burgers; for others, it might be pizza or steaks. We don’t know what you like to eat personally, but we do have a list of the most popular foods for Memorial Day:
- Burgers
- Hot Dogs
- Hoagie Sandwiches
- BBQ Anything
- Buffalo Wings With Ranch
- Philly Cheesesteaks
- Corn Dogs
- Lobster Rolls
- Apple Pie
Memorial Day is a special holiday for many people all across the United States, and we hope that we’ve given people at least a few ideas on how to get the most out of this day. Remember, there is no wrong way to celebrate this holiday, as long as you’re respectful to the people who served or are currently serving in the U.S. military and their families.