It's Memorial Day, a day where we remember brave men and women who died serving our country.
Why Memorial Day? Memorial Day is a day of remembrance. It was born out of a bloody war fought on American soil, the Civil War, and was originally named Decoration Day. While other military focused holidays may remember victories, battles, or even catastrophes, the Decoration Day date was chosen because there was NOT a battle fought on that day during the Civil War. Its purpose was to remember military members who had fought and died with both the Confederate States and the Union. On Decoration Day, people were encouraged to visit and decorate graves with flowers.
Many states in the South did not celebrate Decoration Day in May, as did the North. Some Southern states, even today, have added other days on which to commemorate Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. It wasn't until after World War I that states in South celebrated Decoration Day, now Memorial Day, as it was now a day that celebrated all Americans who died fighting in any war.
Why poppies? Poppies didn't show up until World War I when they were made symbols of those killed in battle through the famous poem, "In Flaunders Fields" written by John McCrae, a Canadian surgeon serving in World War I. McCrae lost a good friend during the second battle of Ypres who, among with hundreds of others, was buried in mass graves on Flaunders Field. The mass graves on Flaunders Field and the poppies blooming around them inspired this famous poem.
Moved by McCrae's poem, Miona Micheal was the first to start wearing a poppy on Memorial Day to remember those who fought and died. She then began a foundation that used the sale of the poppies to help servicemen in need. Micheal even wrote a poem in response to "In Flaunders Field" called "We Shall Keep the Faith." Both poems are listed below.
To this day, the poppy remains a special part of Memorial Day all thanks to Miona Micheal.
Poppies are a fitting flower to have grown on Flaunders Field as, in the language of the flowers, they mean consolation. The poppies growing on Flaunders Field were probably of the species, Chelidonium majus (that is a personal guess, I do not know for sure). This species is native to Europe and is different from the familiar opium poppy, Papaver omniferum. Chelidonium majus can be used medicinally as an analgesic pain reliever but can quickly become toxic.
At 3 p.m. today, The National Moment of Remembrance, asks for all American to observe 60 seconds for silence to remember and honor all Americans who have died in war.
"That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
--Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, 1863
Resources
https://www.thoughtco.com/memorial-day-prayers-701355
http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/prayers-and-devotions/prayers/memorial-day-prayer.cfm
https://memorialdayflowers.org/web/http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/memorial-day-flowershttp://www.usmemorialday.org/?page_id=2https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/flanders-fields "In Flaunders Field"https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/john-mccraehttp://www.greatwar.co.uk/poems/moina-michael-we-shall-keep-faith.htm. "We Shall Keep the Faith"http://languageofflowers.com/flowermeaning.htm#anchorp
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