taos, nm - 2007

Remembrance Day – also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day (the event it commemorates) or Veterans Day – is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. It is observed on November 11 to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918 (major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice).

The Poppy was adopted as the symbol of remembrance because it was so widespread on the sites of the battlefields of Europe after the First World War: the seeds of the common Field Poppy (Papaver rhoeas) germinate best in newly-cultivated soil, which is why it was such a common weed of cornfields until the widespread use of selective weedkillers relegated it to a wayside flower. The soil disturbances caused by trench-digging and shellfire produced ideal conditions for poppies to grow, and they appeared in vast numbers bringing a delicate beauty to areas which had seen such terrible scenes only a short while before.

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In Flanders Field 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.

~John McCrae

_{(information regarding remembrance day and poppy symbolism found via wikipedia)}