Memorial Day is a United States Federal Holiday that is held on the last Monday of May. This holiday is set aside to commemorate the people who died in military service to the United States. According to the Memorial Day Order, "The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of stewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country..." It may be easy to buy a ready made flower arrangement for this purpose, but it takes more involvement to build a flower arrangement personally.
Related Searches:
Silk Flags
For a long lasting arrangement, use silk flowers and flags. To match the flags use a floral color scheme of red, white, and blue. Not only is this scheme patriotic, the colors have special meaning as well. Red stands for love, white stands for purity, and blue stands for peace and honor. These are the perfect colors for remembering the fallen soldiers. Take a piece of floral foam and cover it with dry moss. Put two or three small U.S. flags in the top and then surround the flags with the silk flowers. Place everything in a basket that has been weighted down with something heavy like rocks so the wind does not blow the arrangement away if it is placed outside.
Unusual Flowers
Memorial Day is not a day for just roses. Other flowers symbolically represent the ideals of Memorial Day. Begonias represent deep thoughts. Nasturtiums symbolize patriotism. Forget-me-nots say remember me forever. Either cut the flowers and display them in vases or plant them in planters together. Flags can also be used to reinforce the meaning of the arrangement of these flowers.
Get Kids Involved
Children are not born with the knowledge of what Memorial Day means. By the time they reach school it is just a day off. It is up to the adults to educate and involve children in Memorial Day. The best way is to have the children build small floral holders and vases from plastic bottles. Once decorated, drop some rocks in the containers so they are weighed down. Fill with water and place white carnations in these items. White carnations symbolize remembrance. Next visit a cemetery with veterans buried in it and decorate their graves with the children. This teaches the children to respect the sacrifice that others have made for the freedom of this country.
Traditional Memorial Day Flowers. In 1868, a veteran's organization established Decoration Day to honor soldiers with flowers placed on their graves, according...
