How Do You Celebrate Memorial Day?

Memorial Day is this weekend! You’ve probably already made plans for a trip to the lake or some other outing with the family. Sure, you’ve made your picnic list and checked it twice… but what ways are you truly celebrating Memorial Day?

Memorial Day is a day to honor soldiers who gave their lives in all wars. It is our time to honor the nation’s fallen military men and women. We all know someone who has given their time and even their life to this country, whether it be a grandpa, aunt, uncle or friend, they deserve to be remembered as heroes.

Ideas for Celebrating Memorial Day Heroes

• Visit a Hero – If you have a family member or friend who has paid the ultimate hero’s price, honor them by visiting their graveside. Order patriotic flowers to celebrate their special day.
• Red White & Blue Theme – If you’re Memorial Day weekend schedule is jam-packed with activities already, red, white and blue party decorations will help keep our heros in everyone’s thoughts.
• Memorial Day Poppy – Teach your kids about the significance of the red poppy to our veterans and help them build red poppies out of construction paper.
• Red Badge of Courage – Looking for a good book to read over a long weekend? What could be more perfect for Memorial Day weekend than the Red Badge of Courage?
• Pledge Allegiance – When’s the last time you pledged allegiance and were not at a baseball game? Make time during your weekend to pledge allegiance to our flag.
• Patriotic Poetry – When you’re basking in the sun this weekend, why not take a moment to read a patriotic poem? With smart phones capable of finding anything at any time, it should not be hard to find an inspiring poem to read to the family. Perhaps Flander’s Fields by John McCrae?
• Corsages – Use flowers and ribbon for simple corsages and boutonnieres that can be worn as you celebrate. If you have a veteran celebrating with you, be sure to make theirs the biggest and best.
• Fly Flags – Fly flags literally with flag-themed kites. What a great weekend it will be for kite flying!
• Patriotic Food – There are so many ways to incorporate a flag theme into picnic foods! Try desserts with strawberries (red), blueberries (blue) and whip cream (white). Think ice cream or cupcakes with red and blue berries. Jello also comes in red and blue and can be mixed with yogurt and berries for a delicious parfait.

Proper Flag Etiquette

While it’s important to honor American soldiers this Memorial Day, keep these flag flying tips in mind:

• On Memorial Day, the flag should be flown at half-staff until mid-day. It should be first hoisted to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The flag should be again raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day.
• When hanging the American flag from a window or draped from an edge, always hang the flag vertically with the field of stars to the left of anyone viewing it.
• Always hang the American flag above any other flag on the same pole.
• A torn or tattered flag should not be displayed.
• All weather flags: most flags are all-weather flags (see packaging). These are permitted to fly during inclement weather conditions, according to the flag code.
• The flag may be displayed for 24 hours if properly spotlighted after sunset.

With these Memorial Day weekend ideas in mind, your celebration won’t leave out our heroes who truly deserve to be celebrated. Remember, if you do order a flower arrangement, or even flowers by the bunch to create your own, always always always use a real local florist!