"In Flanders fields, the poppies blow, between the crosses row on row ..." — John McCrae
National Poppy Day is May 22, marking the start of Memorial Day weekend with the holiday's signature flower.
The flower serves as a symbol of remembrance for service members killed in combat, particularly those from World War I.
The use of a poppy to remember the war dead derives from the poem "In Flanders Fields" written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian who served as a surgeon during the Great War, according to History.com. He based the poem on the flowers he saw in Belgium after the Second Battle of Ypres.
Poppies are handed out during a Memorial Day ceremony in Creswell, Oregon.
Moina Michael, a professor at the University of Georgia, led the campaign rousing the nation to adopt the flower to remember the loss of the war. She wrote a response poem to McCrae's work, titled "We Shall Keep Faith," and convinced the Georgia chapter of the American Legion to adopt the flower as its symbol in 1920, according to History.com. The national organization voted to adopt the flower in the same year.
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The tradition has carried on since in the countries of the Allied Powers in World War I. However, European and British custom is to wear the poppy on Remembrance Day, Nov. 11, to mark the end of the war.
“Every time we wear a poppy, we are honoring and paying our respects to those who gave their lives for our freedom,” Gabriella Ramos, Department of California poppy chair for the American Legion Auxiliary said in a news release. “I not only think of them, but also their families.”
Here's what to know about Memorial Day poppies.
Where do you buy Memorial Day poppies?
The largest distributors of Memorial Day poppies are the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. Both offer the facsimiles of the flowers in exchange for donations.
A nationwide fundraiser using the flower was conducted by the Franco-American Children’s League to benefit children in the devastated areas of France and Belgium, according to the VFW.
The VFW held its first nationwide distribution of poppies in 1922, after the Children's League dissolved. Two years later the organization had disabled veterans assemble the flowers at the "Buddy Poppy" factory in Pittsburgh to provide them with financial assistance. Veterans in need still assemble "Buddy Poppies" to this day.
The American Legion started their poppy distribution in 1924, according to its website.
Both organizations distribute the flowers through events held by local chapters leading up to Memorial Day.
Veterans making poppies for Des Moines Poppy day on May 29, 1937, at the Veterans Administration hospital. The red crepe paper flowers were made at the hospital by veterans who earn one cent on each poppy made.
Where does the money go?
Both organizations state that the funds they raise go to veterans causes.
“The donations we receive are essential to the veterans we are serving, from Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation needs to the mission projects we support such as the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, Armed Services YMCA food pantry locations, and to support Honor Flights,” Ramos said in the release
The VFW states their donations fund financial assistance to veterans in need, maintenance for state and national veterans' rehabilitation and service programs as well as supporting the VFW National Home.
