But it is not the same. I have argued this point on the boards in the past, with Americans telling me how they wear poppies too! In ALL OF MY YEARS in the US, living in four different areas, I can count on ONE HAND the number of poppies I have seen people wearing out in the general populace (excluding those who may wear a poppy to a memorial event). In Canada, people start wearing poppies on their lapels for the two weeks leading up to November 11th, and A LOT of people wear them. Watch Canadian news leading up to Remembrance Day, and you will see nearly every politician and so many other people that are filmed, all wearing poppies. Poppies are sold in schools, with children all being encouraged to wear a poppy to Remembrance Day ceremonies. The schools themselves hold Remembrance Day ceremonies the day before the kids get the day off, because it is important for Canadians to pass on this tradition. Just going out to the mall, or wherever else, would have you spotting so many poppies for days before the actual Remembrance Day ceremonies.
Someone else might have to speak to the actual Remembrance Day vs. Memorial Day ceremonies themselves, as I have never attended an American Memorial Day service. I do know that in Canada, cities will hold huge events in venues that are usually reserved for sporting events, concerts, or other public events (like skating rinks). There can be extremely large turnouts for Remembrance Day ceremonies. I get the impression (correct me if I'm wrong here), that Memorial Day services seem to be held around cenotaphs or other war memorial areas. Boy Scouts usually clean up the grounds ahead of the service, but outside of that, I do not know what the turnout is like, especially while everyone is so busy getting ready for their barbecue. Most war memorial areas in the towns we have lived in wouldn't hold that many people, so I have always assumed (perhaps wrongly), that turnout is on the low side.
A few years ago, I was wearing my Canadian poppy and came across a mother and her daughters who were selling poppies on the sidewalk. I stopped and we had a nice chat about the differences in our poppies. (You can Google it, but American poppies are designed much differently than the Canadian poppies). That was the first that I had ever seen an American poppy (both being sold and in person, after 20 some years of living here). About a week ago, there was a 97 year-old veteran who was sitting inside at a grocery store selling poppies several days before Memorial Day. I felt guilty, because before I left the house, I had thought about grabbing my poppy, but figured I would grab it the next time I went out. I did not see a single other person in that store wearing a poppy, but as I understand it, I don't think Americans really wear them much leading up to the day, like Canadians do.
Yeah. I agree. One of our first years in the US, we were invited to a Memorial Day BBQ and I was like, "What are we celebrating???" I was told that it was the kick-off to summer, which only confused me all the more. And then the sales??? Yeah. Any excuse for a sale and celebration in the US. Memorial Day is not much of a somber event down here. The advertising campaigns come off as a pre-4th of July sale, with most showing fireworks and other celebratory images, not the solemnness devoted to the day in Canada.
Hmmm - odd. Our corporation is based in Winnipeg and normally we all take the same civic holidays. I'm sure all the Manitoba business units got the day off with pay.
Love all of this. For any of our DIS friends who don't know, poppies are to be worn on the left lapel in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day and removed after 11:00 am; traditionally to be laid at the local cenotaph or on the headstone of a veteran. I think it's also worth noting that the purchase of a poppy every year is just as important a show of respect as wearing one is. The funds are the major source of ongoing support for surviving veterans of all ages and it grieves me to know how badly it is needed. Canada has a rather shameful history of abandoning vets with woefully inadequate pensions and they are an extremely low priority for federal resources. https://legion.ca/remembrance/the-poppy-campaign/use-of-the-poppy-funds
