Arbor Day is celebrated by planting trees. It was started by J. Sterling Morton. He and his wife moved to Nebraska. They missed the trees they were used to. Trees were needed as windbreaks to keep soil from blowing away. Trees were needed for shade and lumber.

Morton was the editor of a big newspaper. He told people how important trees were. He talked people into planting them. He got the State Board of Agriculture to make a holiday for planting trees. He called it Arbor Day.

Arbor is from the French word for tree. The first Arbor Day was April 10, 1872. More than a million trees were planted on that day. Later, Arbor Day was made a legal holiday in Nebraska. In 1885, the date was changed to April 22. That was Morton’s birthday. By the 1920’s, all states had an Arbor Day.

Today, Arbor Day is the celebrated on the last Friday in April. Most states celebrate on that day. Other states celebrate on dates that are better for planting trees in their climate. Arbor Day is also celebrated all over the world.