Memorial Day Poppies: The Meaning Behind the Red Flowers
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Memorial Day poppies are small red flowers with a powerful story. Often worn or shared near Memorial Day, these simple poppies have long been a symbol of remembrance - honoring those who gave their lives in service to our country and reminding us of the cost of freedom.
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Memorial Day Poppies
Memorial Day poppies are small red flowers with a powerful story. Often worn or shared near Memorial Day, these simple poppies have long been a symbol of remembrance - honoring those who gave their lives in service to our country and reminding us of the cost of freedom.
Memorial Day Poppies
Have you seen them? Memorial Day poppies? Or veterans handing out single red flowers in public places near Memorial Day?
I have. And perhaps you have, too.
For me, it has been too long since I've seen those colorful pins of Memorial Day. But I remember them - the veterans and their red flowers. From childhood memories of portable tables near grocery markets, older veterans sitting quietly, and rows of little red Memorial Day poppies waiting to be pinned to a lapel.
It makes me a little sad when I stop and think about those veterans of long ago, patiently waiting for someone to remember.
My grandparents happily pinned those little red Memorial Day poppies on their lapels. In those carefree childhood days, I'm sure I asked endless questions about the flowers. But as the years have passed, the memory of why those poppies were handed out has dimmed.
So today, let's remember the story behind Memorial Day poppies - and why these small red flowers continue to matter.
The Poem That Inspired Memorial Day Poppies
The red poppy became a symbol of remembrance after World War I, largely inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields," written by Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian physician and artillery officer. The poem expressed McCrae's grief over the rows of soldiers' graves on the battlefields of Flanders, a region of western Belgium and northern France, where bright red poppies bloomed among the crosses.
The first printed version of the poem was reportedly in December 1915 in the British magazine Punch.
McCrae's poem deeply impacted two women: Anna E. Guérin of France and Georgia native Moina Michael. Both helped promote the red poppy as a symbol of remembrance and supported the sale of artificial poppies to aid those affected by the war.
Proceeds from that first sale went to the American and French Children's League.
In Flanders Fields
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.
The "Buddy" Memorial Day Poppies
The VFW "Buddy Poppy" tradition continues to honor the servicemen and women who gave their lives for our country while also supporting veterans and their families. These small red flowers remain one of the most recognizable symbols of Memorial Day remembrance.
Finding Memorial Day Heroes
Memorial Day asks us to look back with gratitude - not only at the names written in history books, but at the lives, families, and sacrifices behind them.
"Those who say we are in a time where there is no heroes… they just don't know where to look."
Ronald Reagan
More Memorial Day Posts You May Also Enjoy
For more Memorial Day reflections, you may also enjoy reading The Meaning of Memorial Day: A Story of Freedom and Remembrance and Remembering Memorial Day: 7 Ways to Celebrate.
I meant to say "sacred" rather than'holy'. Oscar.
Bonjour Steff. I very much appreciated your inclusion of what we Canadians
consider to be an almost holy poem by a Canadian doctor of the First World
War. Many thanks. The foto at the top of your article is beautiful . Regards,
Oscar Schneider in far away Quebec.