Celebs share how they plan to remember loved ones this Celebration Day
Lindsey Burrow, wife of rugby league legend Rob Burrow, planted wildflowers today at the National Trust's Quarry Bank to mark Celebration Day this week.
It is dedicated to honouring those who have inspired and shaped us long after they've died.
Rob Burrow was a beloved sportsman who inspired many with his courage after a 2019 motor neurone disease diagnosis.
He died in 2024, leaving a lasting legacy of awareness and advocacy.
Wearing a Celebration Day star pin badge (available at WHSmith stores across the UK), Lindsey joined staff from the National Trust's Quarry Bank to help launch Celebration Day's free 'Seeds of Memory' wildflower packs.
The seed packets are available for free at 94 National Trust second-hand bookshops in England and Wales, giving people a chance to plant in memory of someone special at home.
Held annually on the last May bank holiday Monday, and Inspired by traditions like Mexico's Day of the Dead, Celebration Day provides a dedicated opportunity for the nation to celebrate the lives of those who have shaped us - whether through personal connections, history, or culture.
Speaking at Quarry Bank, Lindsey said: 'Planting wildflower seeds at Quarry Bank in memory of Rob to mark Celebration Day has been really special.
'I love the idea behind Celebration Day – it's a gentle reminder to pause, reflect, and celebrate the people who have shaped our lives.'
Free 'Wildflower Seeds of Memory 'packs are part of a wider initiative that includes a Celebration Day memorial woodland at the National Trust's Dunham Massey, where over two years, 5,000 trees have been planted thanks to public donations.
Later this year, during tree planting season, the conservation charity has invited Lindsey to plant a tree in memory of Rob.
She added: 'Doing something simple like scattering seeds can open up conversations, especially with children, and help create new memories in their honour.
'Rob always loved nature, and doing something like this – something gentle and meaningful – feels like a really special way to keep him close.
'The kids and I talk about him all the time, and I know we'll be planting more wildflowers together at home on Celebration Day, when Rob will be in our thoughts.'
In addition to collecting free packs of Wildflower Seeds of Memory, other organisations such as WHSmith across the UK are providing Celebration Day Star Pins until June 27.
100 per cent of profits going to supporting Mind, The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, Make-A-Wish, and Hospice UK.
It comes as a poll commissioned for Celebration Day reveals that one in three Britons feel guilty talking openly about death, fearing they might burden others.
Celebration Day is a national day - like Mother's Day or Remembrance Sunday, but for everyone - that aims to break this taboo by encouraging people to take time to celebrate the lives of those no longer with us.
A host of well-known faces have joined Lindsey in supporting Celebration Day. Mel Giedroyc, host of Where There's a Will, There's a Wake podcast, shared that she will be remembering her parents and parents-in-law, all of whom have died in recent years.
Former England rugby captain Chris Robshaw, who lost his father at the age of five, said he plans to honour his golf-loving dad by playing 18 holes in his memory.
Hollywood actor Helena Bonham Carter has recorded her favourite poem in memory of her grandmother 'Bubbles' at Abbey Road Studios to mark Celebration Day.
Helena said: 'Celebration Day is May the 26th, which happens to be my birthday!
'I love how we're a patchwork of every single person we've met, and every single person we've loved, and we still contain them.
'Even if people die, they remain part of our fabric, our internal world, and we need to stop, in this crazy world, and have permission to stop - a day in which we can invoke them, and remember them, and let them live again, through us.'
Great British Bake Off judge Dame Prue Leith added: 'We don't spend enough time thinking about, talking about or celebrating the people we have loved, admired or been bewitched by.
'Go on, give Celebration Day a go.
' Write a memoir or drink a toast to them, plant a tree in their memory, or just put his or her picture on social media with a wee tribute.'
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