Remembering the Fallen: The Importance of Poppies During Remembrance Day

This past month on November 11th, Canadians celebrated Remembrance Day. Remembrance Day commemorates the fallen soldiers who valiantly died protecting the country, and the peace within Canada through serving in the country's military.

On November 11th, the country took various measures to remember the fallen soldiers. One of the most popular is the wearing of the poppy. In the days leading up to Remembrance Day, people all over the country can be seen with a red, felt, poppy, pinned to their clothing. There are also parades, and the reciting of the famous Remembrance Day poem. There are many variations of the poem, but the following is an excerpt of the one I learned in kindergarten.

I'll wear a poppy on Remembrance Day

To show im proud of what they did for me

Bless our country and the airmen too

For keeping Canada free

Remembrance day being on November 11th was a very deliberate choice. The end of World War 1 came when the armistice was signed between Germany and England, on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, in 1918. The end of the fighting is said to have occurred at 11:00 a.m. For this reason, the country has a moment of silence at eleven o'clock. Canada is not the only place to celebrate Remembrance Day. It is also acknowledged by the United Kingdom and Australia. The day occurs under a different name in the United States, where they celebrate Veterans Day.

The poppies worn on Remembrance Day carry a lot of meaning. The most common poppy to see is the red one, pictured above. This poppy is said to represent the blood shed by the soldiers who fought for their country, and they rose in prominence after the wartime poem “In Flanders Fields" by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was published. The lieutenant wrote the poem while serving on the front lines of World War 1. It was inspired by the red poppies he saw growing in the war-torn fields of the first world war. After this poem was published, poppies became recognized across the country as a representation of war and those lost in the fighting.

The Historical Society of Sarasota County