The Best Memorial Day Q&A for Kids!

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Get ready for the unofficial first day of summer! Use these read-aloud answers with your young kids to learn all about where Memorial Day comes from, and the what-why-how behind some of its most popular traditions.
 

What is Memorial Day? 

Memorial Day is a U.S. holiday celebrated every year on the last Monday in May. It was originally called “Decoration Day” and it’s meant to serve as a day to remember citizens who have passed away while serving in the military.

Especially in its earliest days, people spent Memorial Day by putting flags, flowers, or ribbons on the graves of war soldiers or by having parades. Today, many people still see the holiday as one of remembrance while also enjoying the day as part of a long weekend to spend with their families at the start of summer! Things like barbequing, beach trips, and picnics have all become popular Memorial Day activities!

Also see: Why are some holidays celebrated on a different day every year?

What is a tradition? 

For lots of families, Holidays like Memorial Day come full of traditions! Traditions are practices and beliefs that are passed down between generations of a certain family, culture, or other group. Unlike laws and rules, which we have to observe for our safety and well-being, traditions are usually things we do by choice because they are customary, meaningful, and enjoyable! Traditions help us observe special occasions and feel unified within a group.

The word tradition also implies that a certain practice has been around for some time and is observed regularly. A tradition in a certain family, for example, might go back to parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and beyond! However, new traditions are made all the time and sometimes even replace old traditions. For something to become a tradition, it just has to be done once, and then done again and again after that!

Also see: What is culture?

How did ketchup get its name? 

Ketchup, catsup, catsiup, catchup… no matter what you call it or how you spell it, if you’re going to be grilling this Memorial Day, chances are you’ll be using some of this curiously-named condiment to top your burgers.

The origin of the name “ketchup” is usually traced to Malaysia and, before that, to China, where people used a sauce known as “kichap” or “ke-tsiap” or “ketjap.” This sauce was actually not very much like the tomato-y ketchup we eat today. – Its main ingredient was fish brine! As the popularity of the fish brine sauce traveled around the world, different and new ingredients were used in certain regions, including mushrooms, walnuts, oysters, and cucumbers.   

At some point, tomatoes were added to the recipes and eventually, they stuck! (Particularly for those making or eating this sauce in the United States.) Unlike the ingredients, the name stayed pretty close to its original, and so today we eat “ketchup”!

Also see: How did hot dogs get their name?, Where does the word barbeque come from?

Why is sand white? 

If you’re heading to the beach this Memorial Day, you may find yourself thinking sand is pretty amazing stuff! We can use it to build castles, and we can squish it between our toes. It can be really soft, but it can also be really gritty. So just what is sand anyway?

Sand wasn’t always sand. Usually it’s a lot of minerals that washed up from the ocean, and rocks and seashells that were ground into tiny pieces smaller than pebbles. Together these tiny pieces form a blanket of sand that covers our beaches.

If you see white sand, it’s because the sand is made of things that are white. Quartz is a very common mineral that makes up sand and it can be white. Gypsum is another mineral that can make white sand. Seashells are often white and can affect sand’s color too. But even though lots of sand is white, it can also be other colors too! Often you’ll find that sand has a whole bunch of different colors—you just have to look closely to see them!

Also see: Why do you hear the sound of the ocean in a seashell?, Why are there waves?

Why do we sweat? 

Lots of people consider Memorial Day to be the start of summer, and you know what that means: Hot, humid, sweaty temps!

Sweat is your body’s natural way of cooling down. Most of the time you sweat when the temperature around you is hot or when you’re running around and exercising. – As the sweat comes out of your body, you cool off!

Sweat is made up of mostly water, and different people all sweat different amounts depending on their body and what’s making them sweat. Our sweat comes out of tiny little openings just below our skin that are too small for us to see. These openings are known as “sweat glands,” and the typical adult has 2-5 million of them!! When sweat reaches the surface of our skin, it then evaporates, which cools us down!

Also see: How does my body heat up and cool down?, Why is it so hot in summer?

The above answers were written by Mya Kagan and Brian Griffin. For more on these topics and endless others, just browse or search!