Morrill and Karen Worcester own a wreath company in Maine, and in 1992 they ended the year with a surplus of wreaths. That sparked an idea. Why not use the wreaths to honor our nation’s veterans?
With help from their Senator, they arranged for the wreaths to be placed on graves in one of the older areas of Arlington National Cemetery. Other organizations and individuals stepped up to help, and the practice continued quietly until 2005.
But in 2005 a photo of a wreath-laying ceremony in the snow at Arlington National Cemetery circulated. The emotional and moving image captivated the nation. People loved this selfless and unique way to honor veterans at Christmas. Individuals, organizations, and cemeteries flooded the Worcesters with requests for wreaths, wanting to duplicate this symbolic honor across the nation.
The effort grew, and in 2007 the Worcesters founded Wreaths Across America. In 2008 Congress unanimously voted to recognize December 13 as “Wreaths Across America Day.” The efforts expanded and by 2014 (the last year noted on their website) WAA had placed nearly 700,000 wreaths to honor veterans across the nation.
But not everyone likes it
But not everyone likes the practice.
Mikey Weinstein, the founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, gripes, “We have no problem if people reach out and want a wreath on their deceased veterans’ graves, but to put them everywhere, to blanket them without permission of the surviving families is unconstitutional, an atrocity and a disgrace.”
In a flurry of hyperbole, he added that placing wreaths on all the gravesites is “almost like a fundamentalist Christian gang sign to put a symbol of the Christian season of Christmas on any grave.”
In addition, MRFF argues that the practice violates the separation of church and state. MRFF Senior Research Director Chris Rodda wrote, “The gravesites of Christians and non-Christians alike will be adorned with this hijacked-from-paganism symbol of Christianity — circular and made of evergreen to symbolize everlasting life through Jesus Christ — whether the families of the deceased veterans like it or not.” And he added that the practice forces “the non-Christian dead who didn’t celebrate Christmas in life to celebrate it in death.”
How would you respond to that?
The MRFF leaders’ diatribe is stuffed full of vitriolic nonsense.
For instance, dead non-Christians cannot be forced to celebrate Christmas (in fact, if atheists believe their own ideology, dead non-Christians cease to exist at all). And atheists and Christians alike know that the wreaths are there to support the families and to honor national heroes, not to impose any beliefs. And laying wreaths on gravesites is not unconstitutional. It’s honorable.
The truth is, the MRFF leaders are just being argumentative. And we are not interested in arguing with people who are only interested in arguing (Prov. 18:2, 2 Tim. 2:23-25).
Because it’s clear that the placement of the wreaths and the virtues they symbolize should be embraced by everyone, Christian or not.
Here’s what I mean:
- Symbols imply something greater
To be symbolic, all symbols must be endowed with meaning. Until that meaning is added, the symbol isn’t a symbol. It’s basically neutral.
Early Christians adopted many symbols from symbols already in use in the surrounding culture. But when Christians adopted those symbols, the symbol was elevated, as if its true nature was suddenly revealed. Take baptism. Getting dunked under water just gets you wet. But it becomes symbolic when it is infused with spiritual meaning.
Before Christians came along, baptism was already a common practice in cultic and pagan worship of the First Century. But when Christians adopted it, they elevated it to its truest and greatest form. Baptism is now one of the most significant symbols of the Church (Rom. 6:1-11).
Communion is another example. The symbols of the Passover were elevated to their true greatness when Christ applied the symbols to Himself (Luke 22:7-23).
And before Christianity, wreaths were placed on the heads of conquering heroes to celebrate their success in battle. Athletes received a wreath, also to acknowledge their prowess and success.
Secularists are right. Christians have adopted and adapted the wreath as a Christian symbol. To the Christian, it does indeed symbolize eternal life. And, true, that’s why we hang wreaths in our homes at Christmas.
But here’s the thing. Nowhere on the WAA website is there any reference to Christianity. At least, not that I could find. And trust me, I tried. That doesn’t mean that the Worcesters are not Christians. The website doesn’t say either way.
But it does mean that their intention is for any Americans, Christian or not, to get on board with this effort to honor our veterans, warriors, and heroes. The work of WAA should unify the nation. Heroes are heroes, no matter one’s ideology or religious perspective.
- Sacrifice matters to everyone
Despite their protests, associating the wreath with Christian values is a good thing, even for secularists and atheists. Christians advocate a basic value shared by all people, and which is heralded by the wreaths on the veterans’ gravesites.
It’s the value of selfless sacrifice for the common good. That’s not only an explicitly biblical value, it’s an admired human virtue and a value that should be embraced by everyone, regardless of ideology (John 15:13, Mark 12:31).
As a symbol of heroism, the wreath is a good thing. As a symbol of sacrifice, it’s a great thing. But as a Christian symbol, it is magnificent, elevated to its loftiest meaning, becoming a reminder that God’s Son would sacrifice Himself for the unworthy, the undeserving, and the unloved.
The wreath on the tombstones reminds everyone of the virtue of sacrifice. And for the Christian, it reminds us that Christ is the embodiment of sacrifice, the reason we value it in the first place. And it reminds us that God is an equal-opportunity Hero, not tied to culture or country, but dying for all humanity that all could know Him (John 3:16).
- Secularists can’t escape what really matters
But that is really the whole point, isn’t it?
When secularists and atheists grouse about the work of WAA and argue that placing wreaths imposes Christianity on non-Christians, it exposes once again the bigger picture. Why oppose something that you, yourself, say doesn’t matter?
See, secularists and atheists don’t despise the wreath. They despise the meaning that Christians invest in the symbol of the wreath. And they would rather not be reminded that there is one true Savior, and that every selfless sacrifice proclaims His great sacrifice for all people.
The argument over the symbols reminds us that these symbols infiltrate the human psyche for a reason. We honor heroes and celebrate the birth of Christ because we cannot get away from it.
We need a Savior.
That’s the meaning of Christmas. So, when you, a Christian, have an opportunity, continue the proclamation. Let people know the meaning that you invest in the symbol of the wreath.
There is one true sacrifice. One in Whom we can have eternal life. And that’s what Christmas is all about.
No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13
Excellent article. And this from someone who grew up in Arlington, VA and well-acquainted with the honors and traditions of the Cemetery.
Thanks Terry! Stay warm!