Memorial Day Weekend 2023: Parades, Services In Bensalem (2024)

Numerous parades, services, and even fireworks are planned to commemorate the Memorial Day weekend in Lower Bucks County.

Posted Fri, May 19, 2023 at 2:04 pm ET

On Memorial Day, May 29, Veterans of Foreign Wars posts in Eddington and Andalusia will lead a parade down Bristol Pike from the Suzuki Fun Center at 2639 Route 13 to Mill Park, the city line with Philadelphia. The parade is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.

Below are some other Memorial Day weekend parades and services throughout Lower Bucks County:

Langhorne

The 104th Langhorne Memorial Day Parade will be held on May 29 at 9 a.m. starting at the Jesse W. Soby American Legion Post home at 115 West Richardson Avenue. Bands, emergency responders, community organizations, the Boy Scouts, the Langhorne Borough Business Association, and dignitaries from Langhorne Borough, Langhorne Manor Borough, and Middletown Township will be on hand while children can participate in a decorated bike contest.

Northampton Township

• The Northampton Township Board of Supervisors and the Northampton Township Veterans Advisory Commission are inviting residents to come out for a Memorial Day ceremony at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 29. The ceremony is at Robert H. Dembowski Jr. Veterans Memorial Park, right on the corner of Richboro Plaza at Second Street Pike and Newtown-Richboro Road. There will be an 8 a.m. flag-raising ceremony by the Marine Corps League Patriot Detachment at the flag poles in front of the Northampton Township Administrative Building at 55 Township Rd. The ceremony is expected to last 10 minutes.

Morrisville

• The parade will take place on Memorial Day, Monday, May 29, beginning at 9 a.m. from the Presbyterian Church parking lot and conclude on Anderson Avenue with a small ceremony. This year we will have multiple marching bands including, Bag Pipes, The Fife, and Drum of Washington Crossing, Brass band, and our Morrisville High School. Multiple firehouses, emergency services, and community groups from our surrounding area will also be in attendance.

Memorial Day Celebration at Sesame Place

• Celebrate Memorial Day Weekend at Sesame Place. Everyone will love the “C is for Celebrate” fireworks show on Sunday, May 28. Don’t miss photos with Elmo dressed in festive red, white, and blue all weekend at photos with Elmo and friends. Click here for a schedule of appearances. The event takes place at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 27, with a fireworks show at 9 p.m. on Sunday, May 28.

Honoring Veterans

As the observance has changed over the years, many families also use Memorial Day as an occasion to visit Bensalem Township cemeteries and leave flowers at the graves of family members, regardless of whether they served in the military.

Memorial Day History

The history of Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, dates back to 1868, when Gen. John A. Logan called for a day of remembrance to honor the Northern lives lost amid battle during the Civil War that had ended just a few years earlier, according to History.com. As time passed, more and more people called it Memorial Day, and it became a federal holiday in 1971.

Waterloo, New York, is considered the birthplace of Memorial Day. The town’s observance on May 5, 1866, predated Logan’s call for a day of remembrance. Local businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers and flags.

Until World War I, the holiday honored only those soldiers who died while fighting for the Union in the War, as Southern states honored their war dead on a separate day. After the 116,000-plus American deaths in World War I, the tradition changed to remember all who have died while serving in the military.

Every year, a national moment of remembrance is held at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. No matter where they are or what they’re doing, Americans are asked to pause for one minute in silence to remember military personnel who have given their lives in service to their country. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the midday time was chosen because it’s a time when many Americans will be enjoying their freedoms on a national holiday.