Why Memorial Day Sales...Suck.

I know, I know. We all love a good sale right? 

Well, I don’t know about you but I’m a little sick of, quite a few retailers, making the holidays into something they’re not. Memorial Day isn’t about what shirt or pair of pants you stole for an amazing deal. It means so much more than that. 

“Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. Over two dozen cities and towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day.

Regardless of the exact date or location of its origins, one thing is clear – Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. It was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.

On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there. 

The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war).

It is now observed in almost every state on the last Monday in May with Congressional passage of the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 – 363).” 

– usmemorialday.org 

So, Memorial Day means so much more than a sale. Now, I’m not implying that you need to run out and decorate every grave in your local cemetery or that you're evil if you participate in a sale…but, now would be an excellent time to spend time with loved ones and remember what’s important in life- getting back to our roots and remembering the true meaning for the holiday & celebrating the freedom we have- that cost so much for some. 

The same is very true for what Values First believes in and what our mission is- getting down to our core and putting our Values First in our clothing. That’s one of the reasons why we’re not running a holiday sale this weekend on our shirts. Hell, we’re not even processing orders placed until Tuesday morning. We want to be with our loved ones and focus on them. We want you to do the same. 

So thank you to all the men and women who have served and still are serving. You provide each of us the chance to be with loved ones and experience this great thing we call freedom. Thank you and God bless!

- Keri Owens