It was 1986 when I came to Canada, and one of the very first customs I was introduced to as a young girl was wearing the poppy on Remembrance Day. “why?” I asked my dad – “Because all Canadians wear one” he replied. For years I never questioned the meaning of it.
It’s not until I reached high school and read the iconic poem by John McCrae that I finally understood the meaning of Remembrance Day:
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.
Wearing a poppy its more than a Canadian “custom” . Wearing a poppy is a privilege. Regardless of your political views or creed or homeland, wearing a poppy unites us as a nation and allows to give a silent thank you to the ones that gaved us the freedoms we have today.
The poppy doesn’t just symbolises the sacrifices the brave men and women in the Canadian military have given, its symbolises freedom, and the courage it takes to stand up against injustice and evil no matter what the cost.
Ask yourselves: would you be able to do the same?
Lest we forget.
Mary in Vancity 
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