LAPLACE — For many people, Memorial Day will be celebrated Monday with barbecues, swimming fun and time off from work. Unofficially, at least, it marks the beginning of summer for many people.

With all of the festivities, remembering the real reason for the holiday — as well as making sure children understand its importance — can easily be forgotten.

Memorial Day, a holiday observed annually on the last Monday of May, honors men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally known as Decoration Day because family members would put flowers on the graves of fallen military personnel, the holiday originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.

Teaching the meaning of Memorial Day to children can be a challenge, but it seems few would argue the importance of children understanding why Memorial Day is observed and what it means to our country’s history and our soldiers’ families.

Perhaps the simplest thing a parent or caretaker can do to explain and honor the holiday is to spend time talking to children about what Memorial Day means to them personally. Visiting a local cemetery and placing flowers or flags on a fallen soldier’s grave — which are typically marked by special headstones or plaques — may be a meaningful activity for older children, as can volunteering throughout the year.

Sonya Hebert, recreation director at Southeast Louisiana War Veterans Home in Reserve, said teenagers 15 and older can volunteer at the home.

“There’s a lot of things they can do,” Hebert said of teenage volunteers. “There’s a lot of everyday things volunteers can help the veterans with.”

Hebert said volunteer activities include reading to the veterans, helping with art and craft times and spending time with the residents.

Teenagers and children under the age of 15 can also volunteer, Hebert said, but would need to be accompanied by an adult.

For more information on volunteering, contact Hebert at sonya.hebert@la.gov or at 985-479-4080.

While many formal Memorial Day observances happened during the week across the River Region, none are planned locally for Monday.

The National WWII Museum in New Orleans will highlight artifacts, images and stories in its collection and through a commemoration planned to start at 10:30 a.m. with a quintet performance from the Marine Corps. The observance will last through the afternoon with various events and can be viewed online at nationalww2museum.org.

One way to teach younger children about the day is to incorporate the lesson into something fun. A printable Medal of Honor coloring book can be found at homeofheroes.com/coloringbook. The site offers parents the opportunity to print out individual pages with coloring activities and brief history facts on each page.

Other Memorial Day coloring pages, craft projects, word searches, quizzes and more can be found at enchantedlearning.com/crafts/memorialday.

One craft project the entire family can participate in is to create a card or picture to be sent to a soldier who is currently serving the country.

While there are a plethora of options available online as to where to send the letters, a millionthanks.org lists First United Methodist Church, located at 301 Bamboo Road in LaPlace, as a drop-off location for letters and cards. To contact the church, call 985-652-6560.

Finally, a National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.