Memorial Day is Monday.
Memorial Day originated as Decoration Day to honor Union and Confederate soldiers after the Civil War, when it became customary in May for families and friends to visit and decorate the graves of fallen soldiers.
It now honors all Americans who have died in all wars, and it officially occurs on the last Monday in May.
Memorial Day is considered by many to be the start of summer, with Labor Day the end of summer.
While Memorial Day is filled with parades, picnics and other fun activities, we should all pause to remember those whose sacrifice helped preserve the blessings of our great nation.
The stars and planets we see today also shone on those who served on foreign battlefields and the terrible battlefields in the Civil War, the costliest war in our history in terms of the dead and wounded.
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On Monday night, look overhead about 10 p.m. to see brilliant orange Arcturus. The handle of the Big Dipper points directly south to Arcturus, the fourth-brightest star in the sky.
Arcturus sits in Bootes the Herdsman. Bootes is an ancient constellation coming down to us from myth and legend. It looks like a traditional kite, with Arcturus sitting in the bottom portion of the kite just where the tail should start. The main portion of the kite is north of Arcturus. Bootes has no tail, but there are two bright stars flanking each side of Arcturus, east and west.
East of Bootes is Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown. Corona Borealis consists of six relatively bright stars and looks like a bowl or widened "U" with the open portion facing north.
We live in a republic, but we can certainly appreciate a celestial royal crown.
