Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day from the early tradition of decorating graves with flowers, wreaths, and flags. It was first widely observed on May 30th, 1868. During this first celebration, 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers who were buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Now, every year, Memorial Day is commemorated at Arlington National Cemetery with a ceremony where a small American flag is placed on each grace. About 5,000 people attend the ceremony annually.

Memorial Day observed on the last Monday of May and is officially on Monday, May 30th this year. People celebrate by visiting cemeteries and memorials to honor and mourn those who have passed. American flags are a common symbol of this federal holiday that are put on the graves of military personnel in national cemeteries. A lot of people have cookouts and barbecues to celebrate this holiday and the unofficial beginning of summer. Everyone gets excited for Memorial Day weekend because it means a long weekend, fun, and a day off from work. However, it is within our mission with ES Riders to remind you of the real reason you have the day off.

For us, we support living veterans every day. We provide them with a chance to get their freedom back with donating electric scooters to help with their everyday mobility. We have the honor to give back to these veterans who have sacrificed more than we could ever imagine for the safety and freedom of our country. Memorial Day is all about honoring those who have passed, and we believe that those veterans would want the best for the living veterans each and every day. We honor this by continuing to work hard every day to give the most amount of support to our veterans that we can. We work to raise awareness and educate more people while providing different resources for veterans to utilize. We feel it is important to educate the most amount of people we can in order to help out this community to its maximum potential.

This long weekend, take a minute to reflect on the meaning behind Memorial Day. It is much bigger than hot dogs, hamburgers, and a free day off work. We challenge you to dig deeper this holiday weekend and see what your community has going on. Visit a memorial or cemetery to pay your respects to those who have died while serving our country. Share Memorial Day posts on social media to spread the word even more. You can make a difference by doing your research and getting involved in something bigger than yourself. Enjoy your weekend and have a great Memorial Day.