The President of the Republic of Liberia, His Excellency Dr. George Manneh Weah, has by Proclamation declared Wednesday, March 8, 2023 as Decoration Day, and is to be observed throughout the Republic as a national holiday.
According to a Foreign Ministry release, the observance is in recognition of the past heroes and heroines of Liberia who have lived and died in the interest of their country.
The Proclamation is in consonance with an Act of National Legislature which was approved on October 24, 1916 declaring the second Wednesday in March of each year as Decoration Day and observed throughout Liberia as a national holiday.
The Proclamation recounted that it is befitting for a day to be set aside to celebrate the memory of the dead, who have lived and died but are being remembered notwithstanding for their contributions made towards Liberia’s development, thereby keeping ever alive their deeds and invaluable contributions made to society, and for the continual advancement of the Liberian state.
The release further stated that the Ministry of Education, being cognizant of the day, has agreed to observe this occasion, through special planned programs to further raise awareness amongst the population on the deeds and contributions of great men and women and their loved ones.
Part of activities commemorating the occasion include parade by students, government officials and staff of the Ministry of Education, etc., through the principal streets of Monrovia to the tomb of the late President William V.S. Tubman, the state cenotaph of the pioneers and an educator at the Centennial Memorial Pavilion, Ashmun Street, as well as a procession to Warren Street to the tomb site of the late President Daniel B. Warner, and onto the Palm Grove Cemetery, Center Street, to the tombs of the late Presidents Joseph Jenkins Roberts and William R. Tolbert, Jr.
The Proclamation also stated that, as part of the celebration, an indoor program commemorating the day will be held at the Providence Baptist Church, Broad and Ashmun streets, commencing at ten o’clock ante meridian, with His Excellency George Manneh Weah, President of the Republic of Liberia, providing the memorial message to the state, followed by laying of wreaths on the tomb sites of selected past Presidents and Educators.
The release emphasized that it is important for the citizens and foreign residents to remember and cherish the love and affection, the joy and constant caring which existed between family members and friends who once lived so dearly with them before their deaths.