There are no poppies here!

Ok, the opening statement of this blog post is for the Canadians in the crowd. For the Americans it will take a few lines to catch you up, so just bear with me. You see this Friday is November 11th, I was stunned to realize it, normally I don't miss that date. The big reason for it is the poppy, a couple of weeks before Remembrance Day I used to start seeing them around and it would remind me of what was upcoming. Well it seems that the poppy is only a commonality in the British Commonwealth (and a few European nations). I kind of figured that the poppy was a 'universal' symbol.

Ok, to get the Americans up to speed I should point out that the poppy is used to symbolize Remembrance Day, a day to honour all military personnel from all wars. The day of the Armistice of WWI is used as the commemoration date. The poppies (plastic and felt pins) are provided by the Canadian Legion in exchange for donations, and are worn by most people during the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day. The history of the use of the poppy is best summarized by the Canadian Legion's web page, but in particular it is associated with a wartime poem written by a Canadian medic from WWI, Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae.

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.

Remembrance Day itself is an official holiday throughout most of the Canada. Ideally allowing time for everyone to attend memorial ceremonies, which seemed to be rather well attended, though I must admit that I have failed to attend any such ceremony in a long time. Though it does not mean that my thoughts are not on the topic every year around this time.

For the Canadians wondering how it works down here November 11th is Veteran's Day in the US. And though this would seem to only be a matter of semantics there is more to it than just that. See the US also has Memorial Day, which is meant to honour the war dead. But the sad reality of it is that Memorial Day seems to be more of a long weekend (as the holiday is not a fixed date, but the last Monday in May) for partying than for somber remembrance. Let's face it, November is a hell of a lot more appropriate month for remembrance than May.

I have to say, sadly, that I feel that the US really doesn't do an adequate job of remembering those who have devoted their lives to war. I mean sure, the politicians and political supporters do a great job of talking the talk, and walking the walk when the cameras are around. But when the primary day to remember the war dead is seen as the "unofficial beginning of summer" something is seriously wrong. It's not something that I had realized until now, I figured that November 11th was the day for remembrance here as well, I was sadly mistaken. And one would think that with such a stark reminder of the cost of war (Fort Snelling National Cemetery, the little white lines are headstones) visible from the LRT in Minneapolis, there would be a bit more attention paid to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

I have more to say on the matter of remembrance, but it's getting late, and this post is getting rather long. So look forward to more of my thoughts on this topic a little alter this week.