What is a Memorial?
Something by which the memory of a person, thing, or event is preserved, as a monument, a custom, or an observance - Oxford English Dictory
This definition, while concise and direct, fails to capture the fullness of what memorials can mean for their audiences. More than simply a measure to preserve a particular memory, memorials can serve as sites of grief, remembrance, celebration, protest, and revitalization. Memorials can be informal and imbued with personal significance, such as the gravesite of a lost family member. Memorials can also be of vast national or even international importance, such as the tombs of unknown soldiers or monuments to the casualties of war. Memorials do not have to reflect the attitude of the majority or plurality of the population. Rather, they only need to reflect the attitude of a dedicated audience invested in the memorial's creation, maintenance, and message.
It is thus more appropriate to define a memorial as follows:
A memorial is something, tangible or intangible, that is created or enacted in remembrance of a person, group, event, or other instance in history. Memorials are simultaneously sites or performances of grief, celebration, remembrance, and/or resistance on the part of a given audience.