The holiday season is a time when family and friends gather to reconnect and celebrate. For many families there are people missing from these celebrations, whether they sacrificed their lives defending the country or died honorably years after serving in the military.

As individuals plan to add spirit to homes and businesses through decorations and other touches, they also can consider adding a bit of the holidays to the places where their beloved service members lie in eternal rest. This is the main premise behind the Wreaths Across America organization.

The primary activity of Wreaths Across America is to distribute wreaths to be placed on graves in military cemeteries. On National Wreaths Across America Day, which takes place on a moving day each December at thousands of locations, volunteers place wreaths on headstones and read out the names of the service members.

The organization was founded by Morrill Worcester and his wife, Karen, as a way to teach all generations about the value of their freedoms and the importance of honoring those who sacrificed so much to protect those freedoms. Worcester, owner of the Worcester Wreath Company in Maine, remembered a trip to Washington D.C. as a child that included a visit to Arlington National Cemetery. In 1992, when Worcester’s business had a surplus of wreaths nearing the end of the holiday season, he remembered an indelible image of wreaths on graves at Arlington and devised a way to put those wreaths to use honoring the country’s veterans.

Arlington National Cemetery was the first place to receive wreaths. Since then, the movement has grown to include cemeteries across the nation. In 2022, Wreaths Across America and its national network of volunteers placed more than 2.7 million sponsored veterans’ wreaths on headstones of our nation’s service members at 3,702 participating locations.

Although veterans are remembered each Memorial Day and Veterans Day, they can be honored 365 days a year for their service and sacrifices. Wreaths Across America offers an important way to set aside time during the holiday season show appreciation for veterans who are no longer with us.

Those looking to get involved can visit http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org to learn more about volunteer opportunities or bringing WAA into their communities.