Poll: Memorial Day Importance Remains Steady

Americans continue to view Memorial Day as one of the nation’s most important holidays, and the unofficial start of summer. Memorial Day honors those who have died while serving in the U.S. military.

Do you consider Memorial Day to be one of our nation’s most important holidays, least important holidays, or somewhere in between?

Rasmussen Reports, which has tracked the importance of the holiday since 2006, found 48% of American adults view Memorial Day, as one of the nation’s most important holidays. Only five percent (5%) view it as one of the least important, while 44% rate it somewhere in between and 3% are unsure.

By party, 58% of Republicans view Memorial Day as among the nation’s most important holidays, as do 47% of unaffiliated voters and 40% of Democrats.

Men (49%) and women (47%) largely agree, while whites (43%) are slightly less likely than blacks (57%) and other races (53%) to agree. A majority of white voters, at 51%, rate it somewhere in between.

Voters between 18 to 39 (34%) are least likely to rate it as one of the most important, while those over 65 (48%) are most likely.

Only views of Thanksgiving. Christmas and the Fourth of July rank higher than Memorial Day in the minds of Americans.

Have any of your close friends or relatives ever given their life while serving in the U.S. military?

Thirty-eight percent (38%) of American adults have a close friend or relative who gave their life while serving in the U.S. military. A majority, 57%, do not.

Do you consider Memorial Day the unofficial start of summer?

Sixty-two percent (62%) view Memorial Day as the unofficial start of summer, which hasn’t changed much since surveying started in 2006. Another 25% do not view it as the unofficial start of summer, while 12% are unsure.

The survey of 1,000 American Adults was conducted on May 22-23, 2019 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.