Poll: Importance of Memorial Day ‘Rated Higher Than Ever’

While Americans consistently rank Christmas as the most important holiday, followed by the Fourth of July, the importance of Memorial Day is “rated higher than ever,” according to new a Rasmussen Reports poll. 

More than half of American adults (51 percent) consider Memorial Day, which is for honoring those who have died while serving in the U.S. military, as one of the nation’s most important holidays. That percentage is up from 47 percent last year and is the highest percentage recorded since Rasmussen began asking about Memorial Day. 

Thirty-seven percent of those polled say Memorial Day is “somewhere in between” and a small 7 percent say it is one of the nation’s least important holidays. 

Rasmussen Reports surveyed 1,086 American adults between May 16-18 with a ±3 percent margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level. Of those respondents, 18 percent report having served in the U.S. military, while 80 percent have not. Forty percent of respondents say they have close friends or relatives who gave their lives while serving in the military. 

“Memorial Day has a greater importance to Americans who have served in the military, 79 percent of whom rate it as one of our nation’s most important holidays, compared to 47 percent who have not been in the military,” according to the poll report. 

By sex, men (58 percent) are more likely than women (45 percent) to believe that Memorial day is one of the nation’s most important holidays “…[P]erhaps in part because more men (27 percent) than women (10 percent) have served in the military,” the poll report states. 

The survey found that more Democrats (24 percent) than Republicans (17 percent) and unaffiliated voters (13 percent) have served in the U.S. military. More than half of both Democrats (52 percent) and Republicans (58 percent) say it is one of the most important holidays, and 45 percent of unaffiliated voters say the same. 

By age, younger adults under 40 — who are less likely to place importance on patriotism — also place “less importance on Memorial Day,” according to the poll. Americans over 65 rate Memorial Day the highest and are also most likely to have served in the military, the survey found.