posted
Does anyone know where I might get one of these for Remembrance Day? They don't seem to sell them here in the colonies.
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
KoM, the Veterans of Foreign Wars sells them on Nov. 11 (Veteran's Day here). I'd suggest going to a Wal-Mart that morning, they'll be selling them outside.
Posts: 2848 | Registered: Feb 2003
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When I was growing up, there was this weird family next door that didn't cook and eat the giblets of the turkey on Thanksgiving. I could never figure them out.
Posts: 73 | Registered: Oct 2005
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Veterans Day is indeed on November 11th, but I've never heard of wearing a poppy for it.
In my experience, it seems to kind of be a hit or miss holiday - for example, the community college here cancels classes for it, but the state university doesn't.
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Well, most western places mark Nov. 11th to a certain extent. It just surprises me because you're always so big on military-related things.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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What do the poppies signify? I'm guessing the red represents the blood from wounds of the fallen soldiers, but why specifically a poppy? When I first saw the thread title, I immediately thought of The Wizard of Oz.
Posts: 952 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Poppies are always for sale around here in November, usually at diners and grocery stores and the like. But yes, we call it Veteran's Day instead of Remembrance Day, and it's not a day off for most people.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Teshi: Well, most western places mark Nov. 11th to a certain extent. It just surprises me because you're always so big on military-related things.
Yep. My favorite holiday is Generals' Day, when we shut down all traffic in the major cities and goose-step around town, dressed up in military fatigues, carrying flags adorned with the faces of our war heroes. Then we all go to the shooting range and rip targets apart with semi-automatic weapons.
We do it like, twice a month. Keeps the patriotism alive, you know?
Surely you meant freedom-related things.
Posts: 73 | Registered: Oct 2005
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quote:But yes, we call it Veteran's Day instead of Remembrance Day, and it's not a day off for most people.
It's not a day off here, either (except Federal Employees), at least in Ontario, except for about an hour around Eleven. I have a ten o'clock class which I still have to attend, but then I can head down to Soldier's Tower and attend the ceremony.
quote:What do the poppies signify?
I always figured it had something to do with the poppies of the french fields (as in the Flander's Fields Poem), but it predates that...
quote:A writer first made the connection between the poppy and battlefield deaths during the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century, remarking that fields that were barren before battle exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended...
A writer first made the connection between the poppy and battlefield deaths during the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century, remarking that fields that were barren before battle exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended.
(some Canadian site)
However, it definately has to do with France...
quote: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.
For some reason, the best links I found were for Australian sites. That just struck me as a little odd when, according to what I read, the tradition of wearing the poppy was begun by an American.
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Well, it's clear that America doesn't really have the tradition so strongly anymore... so it's not really surprising.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Hmm...apparently it isn't as forgotten as I thought at first. I found a link on the US Dept of Veterans Affairs site about the day in general, which says this about poppy-wearing:
quote: Q. Why are red poppies worn on Veterans Day, and where can I obtain them?
A. The wearing of poppies in honor America 's war dead is traditionally done on Memorial Day, not Veterans Day. The practice of wearing of poppies takes its origin from the poem "In Flanders Fields," written in 1915 by John McCrae. Click here to read "In Flanders Fields." For information on how to obtain poppies for use on Memorial Day, contact a veterans service organization, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW), as the VFW distributes poppies annually on Memorial Day. You can find veterans groups in the Veterans Service Organization link on VA's Veterans Day web page. Veterans groups in your area can be found in your local phone book. Look in the yellow pages under "Veterans and Military Organizations" or a similar heading.
And also this comparing Vets/Remembrance Day in different countries:
quote:Q. Is Veterans Day celebrated in other countries?
A. Yes, a number of countries honor their veterans each year on November 11, although the name and types of commemorations differ somewhat from Veterans Day celebrations in the United States. For example, Canada and Australia observe "Remembrance Day" on November 11, and Great Britain observes "Remembrance Day" on the Sunday nearest to November 11. There are similarities and differences between these countries' Remembrance Day and America 's Veterans Day. Canada 's observance is actually quite similar to the U.S. celebration, in that the day is intended to honor all who served in Canada 's Armed Forces. However, unlike in the U.S., many Canadians wear red poppy flowers on November 11 in honor of their war dead. In Australia, Remembrance Day is very much like America's Memorial Day, a day to honor that nation's war dead.
In Great Britain, the day is commemorated by church services and parades of ex-service members in Whitehall, a wide ceremonial avenue leading from London 's Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square. Wreaths of poppies are left at the Cenotaph, a war memorial in Whitehall, which was built after the First World War. At the Cenotaph and elsewhere in the country, a two-minute silence is observed at 11 a.m., to honor those who lost their lives in wars.
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I prefer lilac blossoms. All the little angels rise up, rise up; All the little angels rise up high. How do they rise up, rise up, rise up; How do they rise up, rise up high? They rise knees up, knees up, knees up, All the little angels rise up high. ...Posts: 1069 | Registered: Feb 2005
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