Why do we wear a poppy at anzac day?

Question

Why do we wear a poppy at anzac day?

Answer 1

This poem, written during WW 1, is probably the source of the tradition of wearing a poppy on Remembrance Day.  11-00 am on 11 November 1918 was the time at which the Armistice that ended the fighting took effect.

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae, May 1915

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.

Answer 2

It's only very recently that the Red Poppy has been worn on Anzac Day, in large numbers.

It used to be exclusively for Armistice day November 11.

A sprig of rosemary, for remembrance has been the norm up until the last few years.

The significance of the Flanders Poppy has been explained above in the John McCrae poem "In Flanders Field".

Answer 3

It's in memory of the soldiers buried in Flanders Fields in Europe, where poppies grew...

Answer 4

A sprig of rosemary is worn on ANZAC day, the poppy is used for remembrance day Nov 11. Rosemary is used due to it's traditional symbolism representing remembrance of the dead

Answer 5

Poppies have long been used as a symbol of both sleep and death: sleep because of the opium extracted from them, and death because of their (commonly) blood-red color.

The poppy of wartime remembrance is the red corn poppy, Papaver rhoeas. This poppy is a common weed in Europe and is found in many locations, including Flanders Fields. This is because the corn poppy was one of the only plants that grew on the battlefield. It thrives in disturbed soil, which was abundant on the battlefield due to intensive shelling. During the few weeks the plant blossomed, the battlefield was coloured blood red, not just from the red flower that grew in great numbers but also from the actual blood of the dead soldiers that lay scattered and untended to on the otherwise barren battlegrounds. Thus the plant became a symbol for the dead World War I soldiers. In many Commonwealth countries, artificial, paper versions of this poppy are worn to commemorate the sacrifice of veterans and civilians in World War I and other wars, during the weeks preceding Remembrance Day on November 11.

Wikipedia

Answer 6

We wear a poppy on Remembrance Day on 11Th of November. The poppy is the symbol of sacrifice and also the flower for the month of November. Although poppy flower were found in the early spring in Turkey in April 1915, when ANZAC troops arrived in Gallipoli, in The Valley south of ANZAC beaches.The red poppies were the first living thing seen by the soldiers when the First World War ended as they were sprouting in profusion. They thought of the blood of the comrades.The first poppy was sold in 1921, The League of the Returned Soldiers imported 1 million silk poppies made in a orphanage in France, each poppy was sold for 1 shilling, 5 pence was donated to a charity in France for children, 6 pence's for the League welfare, 1 penny for the League coffers. Today RSL sell poppies for Remembrance Day to raise funds for Welfare Organisation, although they has ceased to import from France. Poppies are popular used in wreaths on Anzac Day. The first time the poppies were used on ANZAC DAY in Palestine was in 1940, where grows in profusion.The poppies adorn the panels of the Memorial's Roll of Honour pushed beside their names as a small personal tribute by the people waiting to pay their respects at the Funeral o Unknown Australian Soldier on 11/11/1993, after the main service the public were invited to file through the Hall of Memorial and lay a single poppy by his tomb, and at the end of the day hundreds of RSL poppies has been pushed into the cracks between the panels. I'm sorry is a bit long but I get a bit carried away with my answer, as I love history. ERRL