At this time when we celebrate the birth of a life that so dramatically changed the world, it is appropriate that we also reflect on the lives of so many mortals who played a role in the freedoms we share in this country.

That doesn’t always seem the case.

Pausing to pay tribute to our veterans would appear to be out of place to the merriment of the season. Christmas carols, the exchange of gifts and joy for the birth of Jesus are far removed from the trenches of past wars and the elusive threat faced by our servicemen and women serving today in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Christmas tree and the green boughs woven into wreaths all speak of life and renewal, not of sacrifice and in many instances the ultimate sacrifice.

Yet the green of the wreath, one decorated with the American flag as well as the red ribbons of the season, is so fitting.

That was the case Saturday when more than 150 people gathered in the Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery chapel for the state’s third annual Wreaths Across America observance hosted by the Patriot Guard Riders RI and the state division of Veterans Affairs.

“The freedoms we enjoy today have not come without a price. Lying here before us and in cemeteries throughout the nation are men and women who gave their lives so that we can live in freedom and without fear,” Ed King of the Patriot Guard said in opening remarks.

More than 250 wreaths, of the 100,000 placed at veterans’ grave markers across the country, were placed at the Rhode Island cemetery. And in special ceremonies conducted in the chapel, wreaths were placed for Rhode Islanders who lost their lives serving in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The commitment made by those men and women was supreme, but also lasting. The life so symbolized by the wreath is not only representative of how what they gave carries us forward, but also how looking forward we must remain vigilant. The wreath is both a celebration and a statement, indeed, so appropriate at this joyous time of year.