Where did the poppy symbolism come from? The poem, "In Flanders Fields". I would like to share this with you for the American Memorial Day:
In Flanders FieldsBy: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army
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.
For more on In Flanders Fields, go to the Arlington Cemetery website.
*Meg_L mentioned in the comments that Remembrance Day is more like Veterans Day, not Memorial Day.
Trent of The Simple Dollar blog (an excellent blog, by the way) has the following to say about Memorial Day, and it's a very similar sentiment to mine:
Memorial Day is pretty much just confusing to me. It’s theoretically a day to honor fallen soldiers, but most people just go on vacation or play in the yard.
What happened to Decoration Day, which is May 30 of each year? That’s the original date created to honor those soldiers that have served our country in times of war, started after the Civil War. As the Civil War veterans began to pass away, it gradually turned into our modern day Memorial Day, which mixed some notions of American exceptionalism together with a convenient three day weekend at the beach. To me, that really waters down the point.
Charles Ives’ poem Decoration Day captures what I wish this day was – and what it could be. But it’s lost amid the jet skis and the barbecue grills.
"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams
16 comments:
The UK and Canada commemorate Remembrance Day in the same way. BBQs? Hardly, not in November anyway....
Yeah, the weather's not too conducive to BBQing in November in either Canada or the UK (or most of the U.S. either). ;) But I think we have the right idea: it should be a somber occasion to remember those died serving our country and those who are still having a rough time either serving or post-serving. I'm not sure how burgers and hot dogs honor veterans, but I guess people are partying because it's summer (almost) and it's a long weekend. LOL!
I've also always thought it was weird that people party for Memorial Day! I think you're right though, Memorial Day signals the start of summer and people are really celebrating that. Even the whole "don't wear white before Memorial Day or after Labor Day" shows that people consider summer to run from Memorial day to Labor Day. Still, people even look at Veteran's Day as just another 3-day weekend...
poppy's are so beautiful, its fitting.
Why is Memorial Day held now? Which war does it commemorate? Sorry for the stupid questions, but I am not a history buff.
You are forgetting our Veterans' Day in November - which is usually more somber.
Veterans' Day dates back to WW1 and is also called Armistice Day.
Memorial Day dates back to the Civil War (which is why there isn't a Canadian equivalent)it is also meant to mark reunification Day.
That's your history listen for the weekend.
Interesting- makes you think a bit- our country, other countries- what the meaning really is... Nice reminder.
I'd like to thank Meg for a nice mini-lesson. :)
It doesn't diminish the lovely poem any either. LOL!
War is just sad.
I'm glad you posted this T!
My family has always observed Memorials Day as a day to remember our loved ones. My mother would take us every year to decorate the graves of our loved ones gone. Each year at this time people always ask what we have planned as they list off trips to cabins, fishing, barbeque, etc... Not that I think there is anything wrong with them doing what they want on this day but I always get this odd response or weird looks when I say we don't do anything other than decorate graves if we can make it back to my mothers hometown of Mankato. It is sad that so many have forgotten what this day is all about.
Hey M, Meg_L reminded me that Veterans Day is more like the Canadian Remembrance Day...still, I find it weird that there's a lot of hype tied to BBQing and Memorial Day. Not that I'm against grilling meat, mind you...LOL! I do love me a good BBQ!
Thanks for stopping by... we did have a nice but busy weekend. Our community has popies everywhere to honor our veterans.
We always decorate our families graves on Memorial day. We've never vacationed though, not on that weekend. Memorial Day weekend for us is about getting the garden in, doing the graveyard trips with flowers and then having a family meal (sometimes a bbq!! LOL) together.
I never realized where the "poppies" came from though, thanks Teresa for posting that poem...I always enjoy knowing the origin of things like that.
I have a friend whose husband was deployed in January. I am always amazed and humbled by the sacrifices that families & soldiers make to keep our country and our lives as wonderful as they are. Thanks for the lovely post, Teresa! xo
I could bbq /cook out any day.
The Sheep belong to 5 Star Foodie.
Thanks for the history lesson, Meg_L.
In the rural south, at least in MY rural south, Memorial Day is sort of like Dia del Muerte--we buy plastic crap flowers at Wal-mart to decorate all of our family members' graves. We have an ancestral cemetery up in the Ozarks, and although we don't make it there on Memorial Day weekend, my parents drive up there a few weekends later and clean up their graves and put more plastic flowers on them.
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