More than 250,000 Maine-made wreaths are being placed on graves at Arlington National Cemetery.

The distribution on Saturday represents the highest-profile annual event for Wreaths Across America, the organization that’s behind the effort.

The tradition began when a Maine wreath company ended up with 5,000 extra wreaths that he couldn’t bring to market in 1992. With the help of then-Sen. Olympia Snowe, Morrill Worchester, the company’s owner, had them delivered to Arlington.

This year Wreaths Across America says 1.7 million wreaths are being placed on veterans’ graves at 2,557 locations this year.