The public is invited to participate in this year’s area Wreaths Across America ceremony, during which evergreen wreaths will be placed on hundreds of veterans’ graves in the Old City Cemetery. The event will take place at noon on Saturday, December 14, 2013 and for the sixth year, the Old City Cemetery is Lynchburg’s only participating location. The Cemetery has over 2,300 veterans from every major American conflict interred on its grounds. The ceremony’s sponsors, the Blue Ridge and James River Chapters of DAR,  will place a wreath at approximately 1,000 of the graves. Attendees of the event are also invited to participate.

The Wreaths Across America story began over 20 years ago when Worcester Wreath Company (a for-profit commercial business from Harrington, Maine) began a tradition of placing wreaths on the headstones of our Nation's fallen heroes at Arlington National Cemetery during the holidays. It was relatively obscure until 2005, when a photo of the stones adorned with wreaths and covered in snow circulated around the internet.  The project received national attention. Thousands of requests poured in from all over the country from people wanting to emulate the Arlington project at their National and State cemeteries, and eventually this spurred the creation of “Wreaths Across America.” The official wreath laying is now held annually on the second Saturday of December. Last year, over 545 locations held wreath laying ceremonies in every state, Puerto Rico, and 24 overseas cemeteries.  Over 220,000 wreaths were placed on veterans’ graves and over 60,000 volunteers participated.

Find more information online at WreathsAcrossAmerica.org, 434-847-1465, or by emailing karen@gravegarden.org.