Wearing a Poppy

[ghYHZ]

November 11 is Remembrance Day in Canada and Veterans Day in the US. In the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day.....the Canadian Legion sells Poppies and its very, very common to see people wearing them. Turn on any newscast here and all the anchors will have one on and all politicians will be wearing them.

http://www.legion.ca/remembrance/the-poppy

In my Province.....Nov 11 is a statutory holiday and you will not find any Malls, Grocery Stores...or even a Walmart open!....and many gather at their local Cenotaph in the Town Square for services at 11am.

But is wearing a Poppy common in the US? We were at an outlet mall in Freeport ME a week ago and a clerk who must have been seeing a lot of Canadians down from the Maritimes shopping....noted that we "must be from Canada"  as we had "one of those little flowers"  on!

[Brandon]

You can find them here, but they're usually just handed out for a small donation on Memorial Day.  November 11th here is for the living.  Our big version of Remembrance Day is on the last Monday in May, Memorial Day.  That started earlier as Decoration Day for the North after the Civil War.

[SP Cook]

The poppy wearing thing in the USA is far less common than in Canada or the UK.    In the USA hand made poppies are used for fundraising by the VFW and are a throw-away arts and crafts type thing (made by disabled veterans) while the Commonwealth versions are larger and more long lasting.

[AlexandriaVA]

The major battles of the Flanders ("In Flanders fields the poppies grow/Between the crosses, row on row") occurred well before the American intervention in 1918. There is no real association with the symbols of that war in the United States.

My guess is that only a slim percentage of Americans even know that Veteran's Day occurs on 11 November due to the armistice.

[NE2]

My guess is that only a slim percentage of Americans even know that Veteran's Day occurs on 11 November due to the armistice.

It's not spelled Veteran's Day.

It's spelled "Hey look! We can prolong the war and make it end on a symbolic date!" Day.

[Brandon]

My guess is that only a slim percentage of Americans even know that Veteran's Day occurs on 11 November due to the armistice.

It's not spelled Veteran's Day.

It's spelled "Hey look! We can prolong the war and make it end on a symbolic date!" Day.

Usually when there's an armistice, it's set at a specific time and day so that all lay down their arms at once.  The news, especially in the WWI days, didn't travel by the lightning-fast intertubes.

[NE2]

My guess is that only a slim percentage of Americans even know that Veteran's Day occurs on 11 November due to the armistice.

It's not spelled Veteran's Day.

It's spelled "Hey look! We can prolong the war and make it end on a symbolic date!" Day.

Usually when there's an armistice, it's set at a specific time and day so that all lay down their arms at once.  The news, especially in the WWI days, didn't travel by the lightning-fast intertubes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Gunther

Subsequent investigations revealed that on the last day of World War I, between the beginning of the armistice negotiations in the railroad cars encampment at the Compiegne Forest, French commander-in-chief Marshal Foch refused to accede to the German negotiators' immediate request to declare a ceasefire or truce so that there would be no more useless waste of lives among the common soldiers. By not declaring a truce even between the signing of the documents for the Armistice and its entry into force, "at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month", about 11,000 additional men were wounded or killed - far more than usual, according to the military statistics.[12]

[1995hoo]

The major battles of the Flanders ("In Flanders fields the poppies grow/Between the crosses, row on row") ....

I thought it was "the poppies blow," as printed on the previous version of the $10 bill:

[roadman]

In the US, Veterans Day has sadly become just another day off for many, who don't even appreciate the purpose of the day and what it should stand for.

And, even though Christmas decorations and goods now appear on store shelves as early as late September (a trend that increasingly rankles me), for many years in the US, Veterans Day has been traditionally considered to be the official start of the Christmas shopping season.

As for the VFW poppies, most folks around here attach them to their rear view mirrors for a couple of weeks, then throw them away.

[kphoger]

I keep thinking this topic says "Wearing a Puppy", so I keep thinking bandit957 must have created it.

[Duke87]

In the US, Veterans Day has sadly become just another day off for many

For many it's not even a day off. I'm going into the office as normal tomorrow.

[7/8]

I always assumed the US had the poppy tradition too, but I guess it isn't as common as here. I always find Memorial Day and Veterans Day confusing (my mind thinks they're the same). Unfortunately most Canadians don't get Remembrance Day off unless it's on a weekend. I only got it off once, when I was doing a co-op term at the MTO (provincial government).

On the topic of poppies, a Timmies in Calgary was selling poppy-shaped donuts:
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/11/09/tim-hortons-store-in-calgary-sells-remembrance-day-poppy-doughnuts.html

[SignGeek101]

University is closed Monday in lieu of Remembrance Day. Guess that will be the day I can catch up on my courses 

[Scott5114]

In the US, Veterans Day has sadly become just another day off for many, who don't even appreciate the purpose of the day and what it should stand for.

That's probably because in most people's mind it's "a day in honor of military members", which happens to be the same way most people think of Memorial Day. So the two become kind of redundant, especially with Memorial Day being the bigger holiday to most people. That, and it's pretty close to both Columbus Day and Thanksgiving, so it's not as attention-getting as Memorial Day, which stands alone between Easter and July 4th.

And, even though Christmas decorations and goods now appear on store shelves as early as late September (a trend that increasingly rankles me), for many years in the US, Veterans Day has been traditionally considered to be the official start of the Christmas shopping season.

Whose tradition is that? I remember when Black Friday took on that role, and it seemed too early then, too.

[ghYHZ]

Unfortunately most Canadians don't get Remembrance Day off......

Unless you are in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland & Labrador......where Malls, Grocery Stores, offices and most businesses will be closed.

[ghYHZ]

On the topic of poppies, a Timmies in Calgary was selling poppy-shaped donuts:
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/11/09/tim-hortons-store-in-calgary-sells-remembrance-day-poppy-doughnuts.html

Redemption for the Restaurant owner!

"The restaurant owner, who independently owns and operates this restaurant in Calgary, will be matching and donating 100 per cent of the poppy donut proceeds to the Royal Canadian Legion."

[7/8]

Unfortunately most Canadians don't get Remembrance Day off......

Unless you are in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland & Labrador......where Malls, Grocery Stores, offices and most businesses will be closed.

I'm letting my Ontario bias show again (I should've done a quick search before saying Canadians).

[SP Cook]

I always find Memorial Day and Veterans Day confusing (my mind thinks they're the same).

IMHO, in the USA, Memorial Day is a major holiday.   Originally for honoring war dead, some/most people have expanded it into a day for visiting graves of any dead relative/friend.  Most people get the day off.   Generally considered the start of summer, end of school year (although most states go past it today into early June), start of vacations, bookended by Labor Day. It is the day for honoring war dead.

Veteran's Day is a minor holiday.  Only government offices and banks closed.  Generally considered the day for honoring living veterans and current active military. 

I get the impression that Canada has conflated the USA's separate "war dead honoring" and "veteran honoring" days into one.

 

[1995hoo]

I have off today because my office is in a building primarily occupied by federal tenants, so the building is closed. Otherwise I'd be at work. Since we get the day after Thanksgiving, I tend to view that day as a replacement or makeup day for Veterans' Day, and it's a trade I'll happily make any time.

[J N Winkler]

It comes as news to me that the poppy tradition has as much of a presence in the US as others report.  I was actually not aware of it until I moved to Britain and experienced my first Remembrance Day there, although my mother (an English major) immediately recognized the Flanders fields connection.

In recent years it has become more common to wear a poppy that is white (for peace) rather than red, though this still attracts controversy.

British poppy badges are throwaway (tissue paper glued to black plastic clothing button), but the red ones typically signify that a donation has been made to the British Legion.  People in public life tend to regard a poppy badge as de rigueur for avoiding charges of insufficient respect for the war dead, but I have never heard of an ordinary person being asked to justify not wearing one.

I get the impression that Canada has conflated the USA's separate "war dead honoring" and "veteran honoring" days into one.

In Britain, and possibly also in Canada, there is a May bank holiday that typically (always?) falls on the same day as Memorial Day in the US.  Remembrance Day is not a bank holiday in Britain, though there is generally a moment of silence at 11 AM (eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month).

[AsphaltPlanet]

The May holiday in Canada is Victoria Day.  It's the Monday before Memorial day in the US.

For most of Canada (and specifically Ontario, where I live), Remembrance Day is only a holiday for bankers and government offices.  For everyone else it's a normal business day.  Most offices, schools, and even radio broadcasts do observe a moment of silence at 11:00 however.

[ghYHZ]

The May holiday in Canada is Victoria Day.  It's the Monday before Memorial day in the US.

Queen Victoria's Birthday — May 24th (or the closest Monday) The unofficial start of summer when you head to the cottage after a long winter.  (Also known as the May two-four Weekend.... as in pick-up a case of 24 beer before you head to the cottage.....and let the season begin!)

[kphoger]

In the US, Veterans Day has sadly become just another day off for many

For many it's not even a day off. I'm going into the office as normal tomorrow.

Didn't even know today was a holiday, until I saw this thread yesterday.

[NE2]

Didn't even know today was a holiday, until I saw this thread yesterday.

Yep. I knew tomorrow was a holiday (never forget the 11K sacrificed to symbolism!) but today? Nah.

[Brandon]

Didn't even know today was a holiday, until I saw this thread yesterday.

Yep. I knew tomorrow was a holiday (never forget the 11K sacrificed to symbolism!) but today? Nah.

Correction: over 16 million sacrificed over "some damned foolish thing in the Balkans".  More than just Americans were there, kiddo.