It depends on your location. Local store managers can determine if their stores are open on holidays.

(See Related links to search for your store to find contact information. Look at top right corner where you can enter your Zip Code to find the store nearest your location.)

The use of the poppy as a symbol on Veterans Day (Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth) is derived from its symbolism in the poem "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae. These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red colour an appropriate symbol for the blood spilt in the war.

In the years following World War One, governments and society in general had not yet accepted responsibility for those maimed and bereaved as a result of the Great War. Massive unemployment in Britain made the problem much worse.

Earl Haig, the Commander in Chief of the British Army undertook the mighty task of organizing the British Legion as a means of helping with the problems of hundreds and thousands of men who had served under him. In 1921, a group of French widows visited him at the British Legion Headquarters. They had brought with them some poppies they had made, and suggested selling them as a means of raising money.

1921 - Britain and Australia start selling Poppies

1922 - First Poppy Day in New Zealand

1925 - First Poppy Day Canada

The most recent and enduring tradition began in WWI when John McCrae wrote this famous poem:

In Flanders Fields

"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."

John McCrae 1915

McCrae was a Canadian who enlisted to help the allies in the war. He was made Medical Officer upon landing in Europe. During a lull in the battle with the nub of a pencil he scratched on a page from his dispatch book. The poem found its way into the pages of Punch magazine. By 1918 the poem was well known throughout the allied world. Moina Michael, an American woman, wrote these lines in reply:

We cherish too, the Poppy red

That grows on fields where valor led,

It seems to signal to the skies

That blood of heroes never dies.

She then adopted the custom of wearing a red poppy in memory of the sacrifices of war and also as a symbol of keeping the faith.

A French woman, Madam Guerin, visiting the United States, learned of the custom and took it one step further. When she returned to France she decided to hand make the red poppies and sell them to raise money for the benefit of the orphaned and destitute women and children in war torn areas of France. This tradition spread to Canada, the United States and Australia and is still followed today.

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The reason for the Poppy is that it is a plant which thrives on disturbed ground. The seeds, which are produced by the millions in the seed heads, lie dormant until the soil is broken up. The shelling in the trenches was perfect for the poppy, which grew in their millions when nothing else did. The poems came later, the poppies came from the activity and the blasting of the ground.

Memorial Day is a day set aside to honor all who died during a war in which the United States was involved. It began as a memorial for the Civil War dead. Ceremonies are often held at the cemetery, and include placing American flags on the graves. The speakers at these events are usually veterans of our Armed Forces. Parades are also often held in communities honoring our fallen heros.

Veterans Day is a day set aside to honor all who have served or are serving in the US military. It began as an observance of the end of fighting in World War 1 and was called Armistice Day for that reason until the end of World War 2 required a different name.
On Veterans' Day, you recognize veterans who fight or have fought for the United States, while you recognize dead veterans on Memorial Day.

Memorial Day (originally called Decoration Day) is observed to honor all US military personnel who have died during all wars and military actions in which the United States has been involved.

From 1868 until 1970 (103 years) it was observed on May 30. In 1971 the Uniform Monday Holiday Act went into effect and since that year Memorial Day has been the last Monday in the month of May. The late US Senator from Hawaii, Daniel Inouye (September 7, 1924 - December 17, 2012), had introduced a bill in the Senate repeatedly to restore Memorial Day to its original date of May 30, just like Veterans Day was restored from the last Monday in October to it original date of November 11. The bill to restore Memorial Day has not been passed, yet.
Memorial a is a day set aside to honor veterans that have served in the United States military and gave their life.

Here in Hawai'i every Memorial Day flowers are picked and donated. They are then made into Lei's by the Girl Scouts and other volunteers. Then on Saturday, the Boy Scouts take the lei and small American flags and place one of each on every grave at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl. It's quite a site to see all the flags waving in the wind, and a lei placed around each and every grave marker.

Fly the flag. Stand and place you right hand over your heart when the American Flag passes in a parade (also for playing of the Star Spangled Banner). Put flowers on graves of veterans in your family.

Always strive to do what is Right, Just and Proper BECAUSE it is Right, Just and Proper to do so -- not because it is "convenient", "leogal", or personally, financially or politically "beneficial" to yourself. Those who have died to help ensure your Freedoms did not do it for themselves.

A new Memorial Day tradition

Memorial Day honors the sacrifice of those who gave away all of their tomorrows so we can live in freedom today.

In the past, it has been a tradition to place American flags on the graves of veterans. This year, Larry Hale of St. George Island, a veteran of the Vietnam War and a scout leader for nearly two decades, is suggesting a new tradition.

In order to engage young people in the Memorial Day, he is encouraging youth groups of all kinds to visit a local cemetery and clean the grave of a veteran, then return home and research the grave's occupant on the internet.

"In Franklin County, we have graves dating as far back as the Indian wars so this will be an interesting history lesson," said Hale. "It will also perform a much needed service, as many graves are untended, with tombstones half-covered in sand and leaves."

If you are involved in a youth group or simply have children of your own, please consider joining in this new Memorial Day tradition.

ANOTHER ANSWER

Look around, you may just have a neighbor that has lost their spouse or a parent in combat that could use a hand with some everyday task, a home repair, a ride to the cemetary even. Honor the fallen the best way by helping those who may be left behind struggling. To an elderly widow even a brief visit is a gift.

ANOTHER ANSWER

In some places you can get bracelets with plaques that have names of people who have fallen

That's a somewhat complicated question. In the United States, Memorial Day--or Decoration Day, as it was once known--officially started in 1868. However, it didn't become a popular holiday until much later, and memorial traditions occurred long before the United States existed.

The idea for an official Memorial Day came from soldier John A. Logan, who served in the Mexican-American War and, later, as a Union Army general in the Civil War. Logan issued a proclamation on May 6, 1868, establishing the holiday nationally.

That proclamation contains some beautiful language:

"The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated 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," Logan wrote. "In this observance no form or ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit."

"Let us, then, at the time appointed, gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with choicest flowers of springtime; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from dishonor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us as sacred charges upon the Nation's gratitude--the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan."

Logan certainly wasn't the first general to suggest laying flowers at fallen soldiers' graves, and memorial celebrations existed in the United States prior to his proclamation. In fact, Logan's version of Decoration Day took place at the same time of year as existing Southern remembrance ceremonies, so he was probably simply trying to merge the two traditions (either that, or he was simply picking a day in the Spring when flowers would be in bloom).

By the time Logan issued his proclamation, the town of Waterloo, New York, had already held two memorial celebrations. The city credits pharmacist Henry C. Welles and attorney John B. Murray with the idea for the holiday.

Other cities also claimed the holiday; in Carbondale, Illinois, one cemetery claims to have hosted the first Decoration Day ceremony on April 29, 1866, while the village of Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, claims to have held a remembrance ceremony in 1864.

The town of Columbus, Mississippi, has a noteworthy legend to back up its claim. According to lore, a group of women visited the graves of Confederate soldiers on April 25, 1866. They noticed that the nearby graves of Union soldiers, who'd fallen at the battle of Shiloh, were bare; the women placed some flowers on those graves, starting the tradition.

In any case, in 1966, Congress officially named Waterloo as the birthplace of Memorial Day, and President Lyndon B. Johnson followed suit, signing a presidential proclamation recognizing the town.

It's likely that Logan came up with his Decoration Day without knowing about Waterloo's celebration (or, for that matter, any of the other local celebrations).

In any case, his Decoration Day immediately caught on, and several states officially recognized May 30 over the next several decades. The name "Memorial Day" replaced "Decoration Day" in federal observances at the turn of the century, but most people still used the latter name; that changed gradually, and by the end of World War II, "Memorial Day" was the more common descriptor.

In 1971, federal law changed the official observance of Memorial Day from May 30 to the last Monday in May, and Congress officially recognized it as a national holiday (the same act of Congress also moved other official holidays to Mondays to ensure three-day weekends for federal workers).

As such, you could make the argument that the first Memorial Day was actually held in 1971, but the roots of the tradition stretch back much further. The earliest observance of the holiday in its modern form go back to at least 1868, and maybe even 1864.

Sources:

• General John A. Logan's Memorial Day Order
• The Good Fight That Didn't End: Henry P. Goddard's Accounts of Civil War and Peace (Non Series)
• White House Weekly Address: Honoring the Fallen
• Library of Congress
• From Decoration Day to Memorial Day

Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day or Veterans Day) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries to remember the members of their armed forces who have died on duty since World War I. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognised as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the official end of World War I on that date in 1918, as the major hostilities of World War I were formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918 with the German signing ofthe Armistice. (Note that "at the 11th hour", refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 a.m.)

The day was specifically dedicated by King George V, on 7 November 1919, to the observance of members of the armed forces who were killed during World War I. This was possibly done upon the suggestion of Edward George Honey to Wellesley Tudor Pole, who established two ceremonial periods of remembrance based on events in 1917.[1]

The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem In Flanders Fields. These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red colour an appropriate symbol for the blood spilt in the war. The Battle was fought in a poppy field, which is a coincidence because aforementioned, it has all the colours of the war and death (red and black.)