Veterans Day in the United States evolved. In my youth, we proudly placed our coins into the tin containers and received our red paper poppy to wear to honor those who fought and died for our country. So, before writing this blog, I researched the origin and etiquette of poppy wearing.
Like the current tenor of our nation, the red poppy’s existence and meaning changed since my early days. There is debate in the U.S. when a red poppy can be worn – Veterans Day or Memorial Day. There are several different colors of remembrance poppies including white for animals who died in the line of duty. There is protocol for the wearing a poppy. Welcome to the 21st Century. Nothing can be simple or non controversial any more, not even the red poppy that said “thanks for serving this country or dying for my freedom.”
Interested in learning a more about the red poppy, check out these links:
https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/celebrate/flower.pdf
https://www.google.com/search?q=poppies+for+veterans&oq=poppies+&aqs=chrom
Pat W Coffey @Wordpress.com 