Lots of people look forward to Memorial Day as a day off from work or school, but some people don’t really know what the holiday is actually about. It’s a federal holiday to honor the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. But it’s also become the unofficial start to summer, as 95% of companies close for the day.
Ahead of what will be a three-day weekend for a lot of us, research reveals some fun facts and stats about Memorial Day:
- Over 47-million veterans have served in the U.S. military during wartime.
- There are around 14-million living wartime veterans today.
- Some 656-thousand military service members have lost their lives during conflict.
- Every year for Memorial Day, 260-thousand graves at Arlington National Cemetery are honored with American flags.
- In 2000, Congress designated 3p.m. on Memorial Day as the National Moment of Remembrance.
- Surprisingly, 25 U.S. cities claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day.
- Not so surprising? More than half (58%) of Americans plan to barbecue this weekend.
- All those grills firing up lead to $2-billion in sales of meat for the holiday.
- But the cost of the average Memorial Day cookout this year is just $31.40, which is 4% more than last year.
- From Memorial Day until Labor Day, 808 hot dogs are consumed every second! That’s a total of 7-billion.
- Safety should be a top concern for those cookouts, as 25% more home fires happen on Memorial Day than average.
- It’s also the second best day for beer sales, with the Fourth of July at number one and Labor Day coming in third.
- Over 100-million households around the world will watch the National Memorial Day parade on TV, which features 24 marching bands and 1,000 active duty military members.
Source: WalletHub⠀
Scott's Thoughts:
- Yeah, but half of those hot dogs aren’t really eaten. Kids just take one bite and go back to playing!
- Memorial Day Weekend is for fun and frivolity. But Memorial DAY is about remembering those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom!
- I plan to stay off the roads! LOL.
