Why do we get Poppies when we give a donation
on Veteran's Day?
Flanders Field is a United States
military cemetery near Waregem, Belgium. Buried in this
cemetery are the bodies of 368 members of the armed
forces who died in World War I (1914-1918). Canadian poet
John McCrae wrote the famous poem, "In Flanders
Fields"
McCrae,
pronounced muh KRAY, John (1872-1918), was a Canadian
physician, soldier, and poet. He contributed verses to
Canadian periodicals before World War I. But he did not
become famous until 1915 when he published "In
Flanders Fields" in Punch, an English magazine. His
poems were published after his death under the title In
Flanders Fields, and Other Poems (1919). ~Above
Information from The World Book Encyclopedia~
In Flanders Fields....
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.
~Written by John McCrae~
Poppy
is the common name for several related groups of flowers.
Since the end of World War I, Memorial Day has also been
Poppy Day. Volunteers sell small, red artificial poppies
in order to help disabled veterans. In recent years, the
custom has grown in most families to decorate the graves
of loved ones on Memorial Day.
It
has been raised in the Orient since ancient times. The
flowers of poppies are admired for their delicate beauty
and gracefulness. Most kinds are hardy and easy to
cultivate. The tiny seeds are sold for bird food. They
also yield an oil used in preparing some foods. Poppy
seeds are also used as flavoring. Poppy seeds may be
sprinkled on bread and rolls, or used in filling for
cakes.
The common corn poppy grows wild in the grainfields and
grassy meadows of Europe. The most showy poppy is the
large-flowered Oriental poppy. This poppy's red, orange,
white, or salmon blossoms often have blackish-purple
centers. Many poppies are annual plants that can be grown
from seed. The poppy is one of the flowers of the month
of August.
Here
is what Compton's says about The Poppy:
POPPY:
The brightly colored papery flowers of the stately
poppies make them a favorite in rock gardens and borders.
The single-blossomed kinds range in color from white,
pink, and rose to yellow, orange, and scarlet. There are
also double varieties, some with fringed petals.
The poppies are native chiefly to the Old World, but a
few grow wild in North America. The plants have lobed or
dissected leaves, milky sap, and four- to six-petaled
flowers on solitary stalks. The short, many-seeded
capsules open in dry weather, permitting the small seeds
to scatter.
The opium poppy of Europe and Asia has been widely
cultivated for its sap, from which are produced narcotic
drugs. It is also grown for its non-narcotic seeds, which
are used for bread seasoning, oil, and birdseed. Certain
strains of the plant are popular garden ornamentals.
About 50 other species of poppies are grown for their
attractive flowers or unusual foliage. The Oriental poppy
of Southwest Asia has scarlet, salmon, pink, white, or
red blooms. The bicolored Shirley poppy is a variety of
the corn poppy, remembered since World War I as the poppy
of Flanders fields. The peacock poppy from Afghanistan
has dark-spotted, scarlet blooms.
Poppies belong to the poppy family, Papaveraceae,
especially to the genus Papaver. The opium poppy is
Papaver somniferum; the Oriental poppy, P. orientale; the
corn poppy, P. rhoeas; and the peacock poppy, P.
pavoninum. The California poppy belongs to a different
genus, Eschscholzia."
Compton's says this about Flanders Field:
"Flanders Field, a U.S. military cemetery at
Waregem, Belgium; men buried there died in World War I.
The famous poem of World War I 'In Flanders Fields'
(1919) was written by a Montreal doctor, Lieut. Col. John
McCrae. McCrae, John (1872-1918), Canadian physician,
soldier, and poet, born in Guelph, Ont.; served in Boer
War and World War I ('In Flanders Fields'). Flanders
Field Cemetery is at Waregem in Belgium."
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