Decoration Day was the original common name for the U.S. remembrance holiday now known as Memorial Day.
The name referred to the practice of decorating the graves of soldiers with flowers, flags, and other tributes. General John A. Logan’s 1868 order for the Grand Army of the Republic called for a nationwide Decoration Day on May 30, helping spread the name throughout the former Union states.
“Memorial Day” gradually became more common, especially after World War I, as the observance expanded to honor Americans who died in all wars rather than only Civil War soldiers. The older name remains important historically, but it is not the holiday’s current official federal name. Decoration Day is also used for some local commemorative events and historical reenactments.