In Flanders Fields by Col. John McCrae, WWI Veteran
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly.
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
The First Official Memorial Day
May 30, 1868
Do you celebrate Memorial Day? In 1868, Commander in Chief John A. Logan of the grand Army of the Republic issued what was called General Order Number 11, designating May 30 as a memorial day. He declared it to be "for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land."
In 2014, we often celebrate Memorial Day with cookouts and baseball games. As a local florist in Boston, Exotic Flowers and Lombardi Florist on American Legion Highway are surrounded by cemeteries; Saint Michael's Cemetery, Forest Hills Cemetery, Mount Hope Cemetery, Mount Calvary Cemetery, New Calvary Cemetery, Oak Lawn Cemetery. Fresh flowers and live blooming plants are an ideal way to show your deceased loved ones how much you miss you them.
At Exotic Flowers, we always suggest outdoor blooming plants like geraniums, marigolds and petunias. These plants require less care than other items and will often remain on the grave until Father's Day. If a local Boston cemetery allows planting, the Exotic Flowers staff will suggest planting your geranium so that your plant can flourish through the summer.
Fresh flowers for the graves are nice, but will often only last one day. Exotic Flowers in Boston carries disposable containers that stake into the ground. These aluminum can vases hold water and retail for only five dollars. Carnations are a great choice, because they even look alive when they are dead.
