How did Memorial Day come into existence in America?
Memorial Day came into existence because people wanted to remember those who died bravely.  It was originally called Decoration Day. It came into prominence as a result of community groups in the South who set aside a day to decorate the graves of dead Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War.  The practice grew to include Union soldiers as well.  While lots of communities lay claim to having begun the observance of a Decoration Day, it was not until 1966 that President Lyndon B. Johnson announced that the official birthplace of Memorial Day observances would be Waterloo, NY, in commemoration of the first national observance on May 5th 1866.  In 1868, due to the efforts of General John A. Logan, who led a prominent veterans’ organization, a proclamation was issued that Decoration Day should become a nationwide celebration on May 30th.  At that first national celebration, flowers were laid on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
In time, Decoration Day came to be celebrated in almost every state. The observance was expanded to honor and remember all American soldiers who died serving their country. Some southern states, however, still honor their Confederate War dead separately.

Here are some of the trivia that you can make into questions
Decoration Day became Memorial Day officially in 1967.

It was declared a national holiday in 1971, and

it is celebrated on the last Monday in May.

It is one of three holidays (the others are Washington’s Birthday, now Presidents Day and Veterans Day) that are shifted from their actual date to a specified Monday.  This adds up to a long weekend.
Why was May 30th selected to celebrate Memorial Day?
Some have said that May 30 was selected because flowers would be in bloom throughout the country.  Other sources note that May 30 is not associated with any battle.

How do we celebrate Memorial Day?
The traditional American Memorial Day celebration featured parades, flags flown at half-staff from sunrise until noon, speeches, visits to national cemeteries to place flags on the graves of the fallen.  The VFW sold poppies for people to wear.  At 3 p.m. local time, the nation is asked to pause for a moment of silence.  This is known as the Memorial Day National Moment of Remembrance.   After Memorial Day was folded into a long weekend, the celebrations became less aimed at remembering our war dead and more geared to family events – picnics, barbecues, festivals and sporting events.  The Indianapolis 500 has been held on Memorial Day weekend since 1911.  The holiday is thought of as the beginning of summer.
There are several nationally televised events, which seek to restore the dignity and solemnity of Memorial Day. The change in the tone of this holiday has become a source of concern for veterans groups, who feel that the picnic-like atmosphere has detracted from the historical intent of the day.

With the 4th of July is fast approaching you will need to prepare so that you can get your kids prepared for the Independence Day. If you are a school teacher and have a lot of preschoolers or kindergarten kids then having a trivia quiz on independence is quite fun. In fact it is also a very good way to impart the needed knowledge to the kids be it preschool, kindergarten, middle or high school. Enjoy these when you have a fourth of July barbecue or watching fireworks or having a picnic or even when having a family reunion.

You can use the questions to have a quiz or create a crossword puzzle or even go for some brain teasers with fill in the blanks or scrabble sort of games.

Let us begin with patriotic questions

Q -Who wrote the Star Spangled Banner?

A – Francis Scott Key

Q – Who signed the Declaration of Independence?

A – John Hancock

Q –Who was the author of Fourth of July Ode?

A – James Russell Lowell

Other Trivia and fun facts

Q – Amount money spent on imports of fireworks

A – $135.6 million

Q – What year was the Declaration of Independence Signed?

A – 1776

Q – In what city was the Declaration of Independence signed

A – Philadelphia

Q – How many stripes are there in the American Flag?

A – 13

Q – How many stars are there in the American Flag?

A – 50

Q – How many verses does Star Spangled banner contain?

A – Four

Q – When was Fourth of July officially declared a holiday?

A – In 1941

Q – Who is the only president to be born of the 4^th of July ?

A – Calvin Coolidge . He was our 30^th president

Q – Name the president(s) who died on the 4^th of July

A- John Adams and Thomas Jefferson

Q – What four famous faces are on Mt. Rushmore ?

A – Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt

Q – Who made the first American flag ?

A – Betsy Ross

Q – When did the Liberty Bell ring to announce the Declaration of Independence

A – July8, 1776

By way of information here is the full text of the Star Spangled Banner

Star Spangled Banner

Oh, say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,

O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?

And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,

Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,

What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,

As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?

Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,

In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:

‘Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore

That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion

A home and a country should leave us no more?

Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep’s pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave

From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!

Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land

Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,

And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

And the star-spangled banner forever shall wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Other facts for fourth of July

Our National Bird is the Bald Eagle

Our National Flower is Rose