Remembrance poppy
A remembrance poppy is an artificial flower worn in some countries to commemorate their military personnel who died in war. Remembrance poppies are produced by veterans' associations, who exchange the poppies for charitable donations used to give financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the armed forces.[1]
Inspired by the war poem "In Flanders Fields" and promoted by Moina Michael, they were first used near the end of World War I to commemorate British Empire and United States military casualties of the war. Madame Guérin established the first "Poppy Days" to raise funds for veterans, widows, orphans, liberty bonds, as well as charities such as the Red Cross.[2]
Remembrance poppies are most commonly worn in Commonwealth countries, where it has been trademarked by veterans' associations for fundraising. Remembrance poppies in Commonwealth countries are often worn on clothing in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day, with poppy wreaths also being laid at war memorials on that day. However, in New Zealand, remembrance poppies are most commonly worn on Anzac Day.[3]
The red remembrance poppy has inspired the design of several other commemorative poppies that observe different aspects of war and peace. In France, a bleuet de France is worn instead of a remembrance poppy to commemorate military personnel who died in war.
Cultural adoption of the symbol[edit]
To commemorate Remembrance Day, several professional sports leagues have emblazoned the remembrance poppy symbol onto their uniforms. Many British professional football clubs will create special edition kits, with the remembrance poppy featured on their shirt.[75] Canadian professional and junior ice hockey teams will wear a remembrance poppy sticker emblem on their helmets.[76] A remembrance poppy patch is also worn by American Major League and Minor League Baseball teams, although these patch are worn to commemorate Memorial Day in May, as opposed to Remembrance Day.[77]
In 2007, Air Canada emblazoned 20 of its jets with the remembrance poppy symbol in partnership with the Royal Canadian Legion.[78]
Controversy and protest[edit]
In Canada[edit]
In November 2016, Air Canada released an internal memo that "strongly encouraged" its staff to not wear a poppy while in uniform. After several hours of employee and union pushback, a second memo was distributed, reversing its earlier position and stating that the "wearing of poppies is supported" by the company.[78]
In November 2019, Don Cherry, a prominent ice hockey pundit of Hockey Night in Canada, made a controversial complaint on-air that he rarely saw people he believed were new immigrants to Toronto wearing a remembrance poppy. His remarks caused widespread condemnation from the ice hockey community, and several complaints were filed against him through the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council. Cherry was later fired by Sportsnet for his comments.[79]
In November 2020, U.S.-based grocer Whole Foods briefly banned its employees from wearing a remembrance poppy at its 14 Canadian locations, as it did not conform to its updated uniform policy of not wearing symbols that were "supporting a cause". Whole Foods reversed its decision on the poppy several days later, after receiving complaints from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, veteran affairs minister Lawrence MacAulay, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and several Royal Canadian Legion branches.[80]
In the United Kingdom[edit]
In 1993, The Royal British Legion complained that Cannon Fodder, a video game with an anti-war message, had planned to use a poppy on its cover. The Legion, along with some politicians, called it "offensive to millions" and "monstrous". The publisher was forced to change the cover before the game was released.
Other commemorative poppies[edit]
Black poppies[edit]
On Remembrance Sunday 1999, a Merseyside group protesting against sanctions and war on Iraq laid a wreath of black poppies on the cenotaph in Liverpool.[119] In 2014 the black poppy was embraced as an anti-war symbol by the Stop the War Coalition which reported 'anti militarists' in Glasgow distributing 16,000 black poppies in memory of World War I conscientious objectors.[120]
In 2010, a different initiative proposed the use of a "Black Poppy Rose" that was "created to be a symbol that represents the contributions made by the African/Black/West Indian/Caribbean/Pacific Islands & Indigenous communities to various wars since the 16th century".[121] The symbol was worn in 2023 around the time of Remembrance Day by King Charles III.[122]
Khadi poppies[edit]
Introduced in the 2018 Centenary year by Jitesh Gadhia and The Royal British Legion, the khadi poppy is intended to represent specific gratitude for the contribution of 1.5 million people from undivided India, as well as Commonwealth nations more generally, to the First World War. These poppies are identical to the Legion red poppy except the petals are made of khadi, a spun cotton cloth popularised by Mahatma Gandhi on his spinning wheel.[123] Jitesh Gadhia has stated that "the khadi poppy is a hugely symbolic and highly appropriate gesture to recognise the outsized contribution of Indian soldiers during WWI."[124] On the poppy's role to reach out to ethnic minority communities whose ancestors participated in the war effort, he said that "our identity is our destiny – and so the current generation of Asians should know that their fathers and grandfathers didn't just come to Britain as immigrants. Our ancestors fought for this country and for freedom and democracy – even though they lived in a colony at the time...British Asians should be proud of the role that their forebears played in shaping the destiny of the world." It has been worn by British Prime Minister Theresa May, and by cricketers Joe Root and Virat Kohli before a test match between England and India in September 2018.[125][126]