The following info extracted from
Wikepedia, contains very useful insight into the practice
Remembrance poppy
The remembrance
poppy (a Papaver rhoeas)
has been used since 1920 to commemorate soldiers who have died in war. Inspired
by the World War I poem "In Flanders Fields",
they were first used by the American Legion to commemorate American soldiers who died in that war
(1914–1918). They were then adopted by military veterans' groups in parts of the former British Empire: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Today, they are mainly used in the
UK and Canada to commemorate their servicemen and women who have been killed in
all conflicts since 1914. There, small artificial poppies are often worn on
clothing for a few weeks until Remembrance Day/Armistice Day (11 November). Poppy wreaths are also often laid at war memorials.
The remembrance poppy is especially prominent in the UK.
In the weeks leading up to Remembrance Sunday,
they are distributed by The Royal British
Legion in return for donations to their "Poppy Appeal",
which supports all current and former British military personnel. During this
time, it is an unwritten rule that all public figures and people appearing on
television wear them; some have berated this as "poppy fascism" and
argued that the Appeal is being used to glorify current wars. It is especially
controversial in Northern Ireland;
most Irish nationalists
and Irish Catholics refuse to wear one, mainly due to
actions of the British Army
during the Troubles, while Ulster Protestants and
Unionists usually wear them.
Origins
The
use of the poppy was inspired by the World War I poem "In Flanders Fields".
Its opening lines refer to the many poppies that were the first flowers to grow
in the churned-up earth of soldiers' graves in Flanders, a region of Europe that overlies parts
of Belgium and France.[1] The poem was written by Canadian physician and Lieutenant Colonel
John McCrae on 3 May 1915 after witnessing the
death of his friend, a fellow soldier, the day before. The poem was first
published on 8 December 1915 in the London-based magazine Punch.
In 1918, American YWCA worker Moina Michael, inspired by the poem, published a
poem of her own called "We Shall Keep the
Faith".[2] In tribute to McCrae's poem, she vowed
to always wear a red poppy as a symbol of remembrance for those who served in
the war.[1] At a November 1918 YWCA Overseas War
Secretaries' conference, she appeared with a silk poppy pinned to her coat and
distributed 25 more to those attending. She then campaigned to have the poppy
adopted as a national symbol of remembrance. At a conference in 1920, the
National American Legion adopted it as their official symbol of remembrance.[1] At this conference, Frenchwoman Anna E.
Guérin was inspired to introduce the artificial poppies commonly used today. In
1921 she sent her poppy sellers to London, where they were adopted by Field Marshal
Douglas Haig, a founder of the Royal British Legion.
It was also adopted by veterans' groups in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.[1]
Usage
Commonwealth of Nations
Australia
In Australia, the poppy is worn by many
on Remembrance Day and is sold in the weeks beforehand by Legacy Australia. At Remembrance Day ceremonies
the poppy is worn by the Governor General, State Governors, politicians,
military and members of the public. https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/24611935/10-000-poppies-for-wwi-sacrifice/
The poppy is not traditionally worn on Anzac Day, although the practice is becoming more
common, particularly at overseas commemorations such as in Britain. The
traditional symbol of remembrance on Anzac Day is a sprig of rosemary.
Canada
In Canada, the poppy is the official symbol of
remembrance worn during the two weeks before 11 November, having been adopted
in 1921. The Royal Canadian Legion,
which has trademarked the image,[3] suggests that poppies be worn on the
left lapel, or as near the heart as possible.[4]
Until 1996, poppies were made by disabled veterans in
Canada, but they have since been made by a private contractor.
The Canadian poppies consist of two pieces of moulded plastic covered with flocking with a
pin to fasten them to clothing. At first the poppies were made with a black
centre. From 1980 to 2002, the centres were changed to green. Current designs
are black only; this change caused confusion and controversy to those
unfamiliar with the original design.In 2007, sticker versions of the poppy were
made for children, the elderly, and healthcare and food industry workers.[ Canada also issues a cast metal "Canada
Remembers" pin featuring a gold maple leaf and two poppies, one representing
the fallen and the other representing those who remained on the home front
Following the installation of the Tomb of
the Unknown Soldier at the National War
Memorial in Ottawa in 2000, where the
national Remembrance service is held, a new tradition formed spontaneously as
attendees laid their poppies on the tomb at the end of the service. This
tradition, while not part of the official program, has become widely practised
elsewhere in the country, with others leaving cut flowers, photographs, or
letters to the deceased.
Royal British Legion poppy
A volunteer makes poppies at the Royal British Legion Poppy Factory in
London, where over 30 million poppies are made by a small team each year
A poppy on a bus in Southampton, England
(November 2008)
The poppy is also worn on Memorial
Day, celebrated on July 1 each year in Newfoundland and
Labrador.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, remembrance poppies made of paper
and plastic are sold by The Royal British
Legion (RBL) and Haig Fund. These are charities
providing financial, social, political and emotional support to those who have
served or who are currently serving in the British Armed Forces,
and their dependants. They are sold on the streets by volunteers in the weeks
before Remembrance Day.
In England, Wales,
and Northern Ireland,
the poppies have two red petals, a green paper leaf and are mounted on a green
plastic stem. According to the RBL, "The red poppy is our registered mark and its only lawful use is to
raise funds for the Poppy Appeal".[9] In Scotland, the poppies are curled and have four
petals with no leaf and are sold by Earl Haig Fund
Scotland. The yearly selling of poppies is a major source of income
for the RBL in the UK. The poppy has no fixed price; it is sold for a donation
or the price may be suggested by the seller. The black plastic center of the
poppy was marked "Haig Fund" until 1994 but is now marked "Poppy
Appeal".[10] A team of about 50 people—most of them
disabled former British military personnel—work all year round to make millions
of poppies at the Poppy Factory in Richmond.
In the early years after World War I, poppies were worn
only on Remembrance Day itself.[12] However, today the RBL's "Poppy
Appeal" has a higher profile than any other charity appeal in the UK.[12] The poppies are widespread from late
October until mid-November every year and are worn by the general public,
politicians, the Royal Family, and others in public life. It has also become
common to see poppies on cars, lorries and other forms of public transport such
as aeroplanes, buses, and trams. Many magazines and newspapers also show a
poppy on their cover page, and some social network
users add poppies to their avatars.[13] In 2011, a WWII plane dropped 6,000
poppies over the town of Yeovil in Somerset.[14]
Some have criticised the level of compulsion associated
with the custom, something Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow has called "poppy fascism".[15] Columnist Dan O'Neill wrote that
"presenters and politicians seem to compete in a race to be first –
poppies start sprouting in mid-October while the absence of a poppy is
interpreted as absence of concern for the war dead, almost as an unpatriotic
act of treachery".[16] Likewise, Jonathan Bartley of the
religious think-tank Ekklesia said
"public figures in Britain are urged, indeed in many cases, required, to
wear ... the red poppy, almost as an article of faith. There is a political correctness
about the red poppy".[17] Journalist Robert Fisk complained that the poppy has become
a seasonal "fashion accessory" and that people were
"ostentatiously wearing a poppy for social or work-related reasons, to
look patriotic when it suited them".[18] Kleshna, one of two businesses with an
exclusive tie-in with the RBL, sells expensive crystal-clad poppy jewellery
that has been worn by celebrities.[19]
Northern Ireland
The Royal British Legion also holds a
yearly poppy appeal in Northern Ireland
and in 2009 raised more than £1 million.[20] However, the wearing of poppies in
Northern Ireland is controversial. It is seen by many as a political symbol[21] and a symbol of Britishness,[22][23] representing support for the British
Army.[21] The poppy has long been the preserve
of the unionist/loyalist community.[22] Loyalist paramilitaries (such as the UVF and UDA)
have also used poppies to commemorate their own members who were killed in The Troubles.[24]
Most Irish nationalists/republicans,
and members of the Irish Catholic community, choose not to wear poppies;[21] they regard the Poppy Appeal as
supporting soldiers who killed Irish civilians (for example on Bloody Sunday)
and who colluded with illegal loyalist paramilitaries
(for example the Glenanne gang) during
The Troubles.[25][26][27][28][29] In 2008, the director of Relatives for Justice
condemned the wearing of poppies by police officers in Irish nationalist areas,
calling it "repugnant and offensive to the vast majority of people within
our community, given the role of the British Army".[26] In 2009, Sinn Féin's Glenn Campbell berated the policy
that all BBC TV presenters must wear poppies in the run-up
to Remembrance Day and urged the BBC to drop the policy, as it is a publicly
funded body.[27] In the Irish Independent, it was claimed that
"substantial amounts" of money raised from selling poppies are used
"to build monuments to insane or inane generals or build old boys' clubs
for the war elite".[28] However, on Remembrance Day 2010 the SDLP’s
Margaret Ritchie
was the first leader of a nationalist party to wear one.[30]
Republic of Ireland
During World War I, all of Ireland was part of the UK and
about 200,000 Irishmen fought in the British Army (see Ireland and World War
I). Although the British Army is banned from actively recruiting in
the Republic of Ireland,[31][32] some of its citizens still enlist.[33][34][35] The RBL thus has a branch in the
Republic and holds a yearly Poppy Appeal there.
Each July, the Republic has its own National Day of
Commemoration for all Irish people who died in war. However, the
wearing of poppies is much less common than in the UK and they are not part of
the main commemorations.[36][37] This is partly due to the British
Army's role in fighting against Irish independence, its activities during the War of Independence
(for example the Burning of Cork)[38] and the British Army's role in Northern
Ireland during the Troubles.
Nevertheless, the RBL holds its own wreath-laying ceremony at St Patrick's
Cathedral, Dublin, which the President of Ireland
has attended.[39]
United States
In the United States, the Veterans of Foreign
Wars conducted the first nationwide distribution of remembrance
poppies before Memorial Day in 1922.[40] Today, the American Legion
Auxiliary distributes crepe-paper poppies in exchange for donations
around Memorial Day and Veterans Day.[41][42][43][44]
Elsewhere
In Hong Kong—which was
formerly part of the British Empire—the poppy is worn by some participants on
Remembrance Sunday each year.[citation needed]
It is not generally worn by the public, although The Royal British Legion's
Hong Kong and China Branch sells poppies to the public in a few places in the
territory.[citation needed]
During Victory Day
2014—which marks Nazi Germany's surrender to the Soviet Union—some Ukrainians wore remembrance poppies instead of
the usual Ribbon of Saint George,
as the ribbon had become associated with pro-Russian
separatists. A poppy logo was designed by Sergiy Mishakin,
containing the text: "1939-1945 Never Again".[45]
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