The Significance Of Poppies On Memorial Day–And How It Became A Tradition

“In Flanders fields the poppies blow/ Between the crosses, row on row" 

These words, penned by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian who served as a brigade surgeon for an Allied artillery unit on the front lines during World War I, inspired a tradition across the world—wearing a poppy in honor of fallen soldiers on Memorial Day. The bright red poppy, technically classified as a weed, grows tenaciously in barren landscapes like the war-torn battlefields of World War I. Their cheerful blooms became a tiny symbol of hope for those who witnessed the devastation of the war.

Why We Wear Poppies On Memorial Day

McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Field,” was written as a reaction to a cluster of poppies he spotted on fields littered with dead and wounded soldiers after the Second Battle of Ypres. McCrae saw firsthand the devastating loss of life in that battle as he tended the wounded—it was the first time the Germans unleashed lethal chlorine gas against Allied Forces and Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, a friend of McCrae’s was among the dead.

He published his poem, giving voice to the fallen soldiers buried under those clumps of poppies, in Punch magazine in late 1915. It became a regular reading at memorial ceremonies and one of the most recognizable works of art from the Great War. McCrae died in January 1918, but across the Atlantic two days before the armistice, Ladies Home Journal published “In Flanders Fields” in its November issue. Moina Michael, a former professor at the University of Georgia read it. She volunteered at the New York headquarters of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) and was so inspired by McCrae’s poem that she wrote “We Shall Keep Faith” in response.

In addition to the poem, Michael vowed to always wear a red poppy to honor the fallen soldiers. After the war ended, she returned to Georgia and started making red silk poppies to raise money to help support veterans. She started a campaign to make the poppy a national symbol of remembrance. In 1920, she got Georgia’s branch of the American Legion to adopt the poppy as its symbol. In September of 1920, the National American Legion voted to adopt the poppy as the official U.S. national emblem of remembrance.

The Symbolism Of Poppies In Other Countries

Back on the other side of the Atlantic, a French woman named Anna Guérin believed in the poppy’s power as a symbol from the beginning and campaigned for global recognition through an “Inter-Allied Poppy Day.” She was Invited to the American Legion convention to speak about her idea and helped convince the Legion members, along with Michael, to adopt the poppy as their symbol, and to mark a new day of recognition. National Poppy Day was celebrated the following May in the United States. 

Guérin organized French women, children, and veterans when she returned to take up the cause of the poppy and make silk poppies to help fund the restoration of France’s war-torn landscape. Her next stop was England. She brought about the “Poppy Appeal,” a campaign by the newly founded British Legion that sold millions of silk flowers to aid in finding employment and housing for Great War veterans. In 1922, Major George Howson set up the Poppy Factory in Richmond, England, for the sole purpose of employing disabled servicemen to make fabric and paper poppies.

Other nations fell in line and adopted the poppy as their official symbol of remembrance. Today, millions of people in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Belgium, Australia, and New Zealand pin a red poppy to their lapel every November 11 commemorating the anniversary of the 1918 armistice. The Poppy Factory expanded to a second location in Edinburgh, Scotland, and produces 45 million poppies made of various materials each year.

In the United States, the poppy is still worn on Memorial Day, not Veterans Day, like the rest of the world. On the last Monday in May across the United States, people pin a symbolic red poppy to honor the sacrifice of the men and women who have given their lives fighting for their country. 

Who Gives Out Poppies On Memorial Day?

In 1923, poppies were assembled by disabled and needy veterans. They were paid for their work by the VFW. The next year, disabled veterans at the Buddy Poppy factory in Pittsburgh assembled VFW Buddy Poppies, and the designation "Buddy Poppy" was adopted and trademarked. Today the VFW's Buddy Poppy program volunteers hand out red poppies in exchange for donations every Memorial Day. Proceeds go to compensate those who assemble the poppies, as well as provide financial assistance to state and national veterans' rehabilitation and service programs. Poppy sales also partially support the VFW National Home, a place where families impacted by war can find space to heal, learn, and move forward together. Whether you order one from the Buddy Poppy program, craft one yourself out of silk or paper, or pluck a fresh one, add a poppy to your Memorial Day outfit to honor the sacrifice of those we’ve lost to war.

“In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae

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.