From the Civil War to today’s mattress sales, Memorial Day is full of contradiction

Memorial Day is supposed to be about mourning the nation’s fallen service members. But it’s come to anchor the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of retail discounts. Memorial Day has long been a source of contention and contradiction, from its shifting origin stories to today’s mattress sales. Auto club AAA forecasts that this holiday weekend could be “one for the record books, especially at airports.” More than 42 million Americans are projected to travel 50 miles or more. Compared to last year, 2.7 million more people will travel for the unofficial start of summer. And that’s despite inflation.