11-11 is called Remembrance Day in Canada. It’s on this day, because it commemorates the end of World War I in 1918. The day was dedicated by King George V, on 7 November 1919, to the observance of members of the armed forces who were killed during the war.
The poppy’s significance to Remembrance Day is a result of Canadian military physician John McCrae’s poem In Flanders Fields. The poppy emblem was chosen because of the poppies that bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their red colour an appropriate symbol for the bloodshed of trench warfare.
One of the Canadian traditions was to recite this poem at 11:11 am, on 11-11. Every Canadian knows it. It’s called In “Flanders Fields” and was written by Lt.-Col. John McCrae.
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
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Thank you for sharing this!
It is good to learn about other traditions for this day that we in the USA call Veteran’s Day.
I didn’t know about this holiday!!
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Global News had an interesting story on this last night. It talked about the origin of the wearing of the poppy, but went on to talk about a challenge that the soldiers of both wars could not have imagined. That is, how the poppy plays a central role in the war in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is the world leader in producing heroin and opium, derived from poppies. Canadian and US Troops are mandated with destroying these crops, which are the sole source of income for the villagers. The challenge is to build trust with these people, and try to wean them off of the money from these crops, and have them farm other crops.
I find it interesting how this symbol of remembrance has become a source of contention in a very different era.