Word. You’d think the British Army had done nothing else in its history except visit the oppression of the cruel Empire on the downtrodden Irish.
Good for you. Irishmen bled and died on the Allied side in both World Wars, and we don’t forget it.
Tangentially related: It has long been a feature of the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance to release a shower of poppy petals from the ceiling at one point in the ceremony. One petal is dropped for every service life lost in war since 1914 (obviously, by far the bulk of them accounted for by the two World Wars, mainly the First)… and you would think they were never going to stop falling.
As much as I appreciate what our vets did, I stopped buying one years ago because of the shabby treatment my contemporaries, the Vietnam vets, got from the AL and VFW back in the day. Sure, they have loads of guys my age now, but I’m a spiteful SOB. And a liberal. From what I’ve seen, there aren’t many places where our beliefs intersect.
I remember poppies being sold in my small town in Montana in the 1980’s by the American Legion. However, I have not seen one since I moved to the Twin Cities.
How is it sad that not every country has the same traditions? Part of what makes the world so interesting, if you ask me.
FWIW, I’ve bought cloth poppies from veterans at the el station in Chicago on…Veteran’s Day? Memorial Day? I forget. Obviously it’s not a big deal in the US. I’d heard of the tradition, which is why I bought them, but it’s not really a thing here.
As an American, I had never heard of the poppies until the Top Gear presenters apologized for not getting some ahead of time so their broadcast would have them wearing poppies on the appropriate weekend.
Maybe I’m just showing ignorance and not indicative of any majority but:
As am 18 year old American, I have no clue what poppies have to do with relevancy to anything and had no idea they were even used as a custom for anything in some places, and I thought I was pretty well versed in foreign traditions. Anyone care to elaborate? My wildest guess is that since poppies often represent death, they represent, well, dead soldiers or sacrifice. But I’m pulling that out of the air and have never heard of the tradition before.
Though I do know the significance of Nov 11, wasn’t it the day of the armistice that ended WWI? (IIRC Veterans Day used to be “Armistice Day” until it got universalised to be about all Veterans.)
I guess what I’m getting at here as far as the question is: as far as my knowledge goes the tradition certainly isn’t made a big deal in America, at least where I lived/as long as I’ve been alive. Consider me a case study, or something.
Maybe I’m just showing ignorance and not indicative of any majority but:
As am 18 year old American, I have no clue what poppies have to do with relevancy to anything and had no idea they were even used as a custom for anything in some places, and I thought I was pretty well versed in foreign traditions. Anyone care to elaborate? My wildest guess is that since poppies often represent death, they represent, well, dead soldiers or sacrifice. But I’m pulling that out of the air and have never heard of the tradition before.
Though I do know the significance of Nov 11, wasn’t it the day of the armistice that ended WWI? (IIRC Veterans Day used to be “Armistice Day” until it got universalised to be about all Veterans.)
I guess what I’m getting at here as far as the question is: as far as my knowledge goes the tradition certainly isn’t made a big deal in America, at least where I lived/as long as I’ve been alive. Consider me a case study, or something.
I don’t wear a poppy for similar reasons to Jon Snow. I would love to support every charity, but I only have a limited amount of money with which to do so - so I have to choose the charities to support. The British Legion is very worthwhile, but no more so - in fact, I think less - deserving than many others. I have never understood why, in this day and age, there is this national obsession with this one charity. For weeks at this time of year, poppies are sold everywhere. There is this underlying feeling that you’re not doing the decent thing if you’re not sporting a poppy. I’m sure, all other charities would give their eye teeth to get that sort of publicity. I would rather - and do - donate to, say, cancer or child support charities. That’s just my personal opinion, of course.
I also don’t feel a need to tell everyone, by wearing a poppy, that I’m one of you, and that I’m a jolly decent chap. There’s no real harm to it, of course, but I’d rather keep my good deeds to myself. There’s a reason why people often prefer to donate anonymously.
Well the people with objections up north (and south) see it as a jingoistic symbol of the British Army, an army they see as occupying their homeland and bolstering British control of the 6 counties. It’s bullshit really but I can see why it would be divisive.
Another thing that we used to do in elementary school is enter a poster contest every year for the American Legion Auxiliary. I still have the one I did in 6th grade, and it features three poppies on it, so it was probably done around this time of year.
My daughter’s in 6th grade this year, and is way too busy not being left behind to ever enter a poster contest!
Actually, I did a little googling, and the posters were done for Memorial Day. I think maybe poppies were sold for both Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day. Also, the posters were placed in store windows around town to remind people to buy poppies.
I work about fifty miles away from the last surviving doughboy. Rather a remarkable guy - Frank Buckles. When WWII broke out he was working for a shipping company in the Philippines - he was interred by the Japanese and spent three years in captivity.
He’s now 107 years old, and in pretty good health, considering.
The poppy certainly isn’t unknown in America. It just isn’t universal. And I have never seen them a week before 11 November. I happen to currently be in an area where there I run into quite a few Commonwealth soldiers and I have noticed the poppy on their uniforms. I couldn’t figure out why they were wearing it so early.
I’m at loose ends in November, without one. I’m in Maryland, and the only people I see wearing poppies are those at the Canadian embassy on Remembrance day.
Jragon, wearing poppies in Canada serves multiple purposes; it honours all those who serve, it commemorates the soldiers killed in all wars and police actions (not just WWI), and it also raises funds for the Royal Canadian Legion, which is a service group that helps veterans. Poppies are symbolic because not only are they blood-red (a visible reminder of the blood spilled), but they grow on the graves of war dead, as noted in the famous poem by Dr. John McCrae, In Flanders Fields. I’ve never been in the military, but I can only imagine that it is a good thing for current or former military people to see visible support for what they do.
The poppy wearing culminates in remembrance services held on November 11th by current and former military people. Two minutes of silence are observed at 11:00 am on the 11th day of the 11th month to mark the time when the armistice went into effect. Remembrance Day is a holiday in Canada; people have been getting away from taking it off, but I personally always take it off, even without pay. I think it is extremely important that we make a special note of November 11th services to remember what happened and the sacrifices people have made (ideally to do things better in the future).
*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.
I hope he was interned, but either way, I’m glad to hear he’s doing OK.
I have a softer spot for the poppy than other badges of charitable association partly because I don’t view it as a way of saying “Look, I gave money - go thou and do likewise” but a thank-you for what the servicemen (and women) did. One statistic I remember was that at one point in WW2 the odds on completing a tour of duty in Bomber Command were ten to one against. That puts even what we now consider high-risk occupations into perspective.
Or, again, you don’t hear so much about them now, but there is a list somewhere of what were called the “Thankful Villages” - those English villages that sent men to the Great War and got them all back alive. In the whole of the country there were perhaps 30-odd Thankful Villages - something less than one per county.
You pretty much got it right. Poppies=Opium=Morphine=painless death to a soldier. We were required to read the “In Flander’s Field” poem in high school, but I didn’t make the connection with the VFW sale of poppies during the Memorial Day weekend with the poem until I was in college. Never really saw them being sold around here during Veterens Day (or Armistice Day) season.
So as a case study, the fact that you knew about Armistice Day actually puts you ahead of the curve. You appear to be right at the proper spot on the curve of understanding for an american teen on all other aspects.
