More than 250,000 Maine-made wreaths are being placed on graves at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday.
It's the highest-profile event for Wreaths Across America, the organization that distributes the wreaths each year.
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The tradition began when Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine, ended up with 5,000 extra wreaths that he couldn’t bring to market in 1992. With the help of then-Sen. Olympia Snowe, he had them delivered to Arlington, and it has grown since then.
Arlington National Cemetery nearly canceled Wreaths Across America this year due to the pandemic, then Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told the cemetery to safely host the event.
The event was livestreamed and participation was limited as a precaution.
All told, Wreaths Across America says 1.7 million wreaths are being placed on veterans’ graves at 2,557 locations.
