Every November, a bold red flower marks its presence on the overcoats of Canadians. It holds profound symbolism and meaning; yet, the poppy’s familiarity might be the reason its significance is often overlooked. Many recognize the flower, but are unaware of its historical context as a powerful symbol of a crucial historical event.
The poppy, worn as a pin, or in sticker form at elementary school assemblies, is a symbol of remembrance in Canada, the U.K., and many other nations of the Commonwealth. It is worn in solidarity with veterans and the Allied war effort, and to also honour those tragically lost in battle in the Great War over 100 years ago.
The poppy’s significance was first immortalized on a piece of paper by a Canadian surgeon and Lieutenant-Colonel. Dr. John McCrae was the acclaimed writer of “In Flanders Fields,” a poem written in memory of a dear friend and former student, Alexis Helmer, who was tragically killed in a shell blast in Ypres, Belgium. The poem, initially published in the English magazine Punch in December 1915, describes the sea of poppies sprouting around cemeteries of American and Canadian soldiers at the Belgian-French border, the former Western Front.
A question must be raised as to why the flowers had suddenly sprouted on battlefields, to which there is a scientific response. The seeds of the flower remain dormant until the soil around them is tilled, after which they blossom in copious amounts. The aggression of the on-ground fighting on the Western Front uprooted the soil, especially at the Battle of Ypres.
The Ypres Reservoir Cemetery now holds over 2,600 burials of Commonwealth soldiers, and around 1,000 of which are unidentified. The deaths of over 500,000 British and Commonwealth troops in Ypres and the barren destruction of land in France is contrasted by the blossom of bright red flowers. This shows the cyclical nature of life, and is a demonstration of life prospering despite tragic death.
In 1921, Frenchwoman Anna Guerin founded a charity to help rebuild France after the destruction of the war, selling fabric poppies to fund her initiative. She later brought her idea to the Great War Veterans Association, the predecessor to the Royal Canadian Legion, and thus the use of the poppy as an emblem was born.
Just as the poppy proliferated the grounds of Ypres, it continues to do the same in masses commuting to work, waiting in line for their morning coffee, and in audiences of Remembrance Day ceremonies on November 11th.
The bright red of the poppy symbolizes not only the bloodshed on the battlefield, but the sacrifice and courage of those who lost their lives in conflict. The use of a flower on this day is a bright display of endurance and rebirth.
In his poem, Dr. McCrae writes: “To you from failing hands we throw / The torch; be yours to hold it high,” a call for an ever-burning flame of hope and peace in troubling times, alongside the constant memory of the sacrifice of tens of thousands.
