Why Should I Wear My Poppy?
- Emily
- Nov 4, 2022
- 2 min read
November 11th, 1918 at 11am, Allied powers sign a ceasefire agreement with Germany at Compiégne, France bringing the World War I to a close. Previously known as Armistice Day, today, we wear poppies in a sign of respect to those who gave their lives for our freedom, but to those who still serve today of the Commonwealth.
How many gave their life?
Many, in fact 6.6 thousand Canadian soldiers gave their life for our country's freedom in World War I.
Why the poppy?
In short, it originates from the main battleground during the war at the Western Front. Through the constant bombings, it was always the delicate bright red Flanders poppies that stood out despite the fact of war. They flourished and grew in the thousands.
In the spring of 1915, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was moved and inspired by the beauty and existence of this flower and wrote the famous poem 'In Flanders Field',
In Flanders Fields
The poem by John McCrae
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.
Over 18 million poppies are distributed worldwide each year.
James Hughes described in Boston,
"There was a lot of excitement when we heard about the Armistice…some of them old fellas was walkin’ on the streets with open Bibles n their hands. All the shops were shut down. I never seen the people so crazy…confetti was a-flying in all directions…I’ll never forget it."
What is the significance to the date?
Remembrance is on the 11th day, of the 11th month, of the 11th hour, which makes it's so significant
Andrew Johnson, a World War I veteran who found this ceasefire agreement a relief to not only himself, but his many comrades, spoke with the Federal Writer's Project and said,
"Armistice Day found us before Metz. We were waiting to storm a great walled city which would have cost us many men, as we would have to cross a level plain about two miles long."
With that being said, as a history student, I hope you choose to wear a poppy this Remembrance Day. It will show the utmost respect you have to those who have helped make our country for what it is today. A country with independence and freedom thanks to those who gave their lives for it.
Works Cited:
“Today in History - November 11.” The Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/november-11/.
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