By Sarah Roebuck
Editorial Staff
WASHINGTON — Memorial Day is a day to honor Americans who gave the ultimate sacrifice while serving their country.
The long weekend is often filled with tributes to the fallen, along with community parades and festivals.
Beyond its solemn beginnings, positioned on the calendar as it is, Memorial Day weekend has also come to signify the unofficial start of summer for many. According to WalletHub, 52% of Americans plan to barbecue during the weekend, and 17% intend to take a trip. Additionally, Memorial Day weekend has become a major shopping event, offering consumers discounts of up to 80% on their purchases, according to WalletHub.
To deepen your understanding of this popular holiday, WalletHub has put together a list of 35 intriguing Memorial Day facts and statistics based on data from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Safety Council, American Automobile Association and other sources.
5 intriguing Memorial Day facts
- Veterans in Congress: 97 members of the 118th Congress have served in the U.S. military, marking only the fourth instance in the past 50 years where the number of elected veterans has increased.
- Birthplace of Memorial Day: 25 cities have laid claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day.
- Hot dogs consumed: 818 hot dogs are consumed every second between Memorial Day and Labor Day, totaling seven billion.
- TV broadcasts: Over 100 million households worldwide will watch the National Memorial Day Parade broadcast on TV.
- Plane travel: 3.5 million people are expected to travel by plane over Memorial Day weekend, a 5% increase compared to 2023.
View the infographic below for more interesting facts and statistics about Memorial Day from WalletHub.
