The poppy flower is a symbol of the holiday

_Elsa_

Meanwhile at the other end of town Elsa continues to look for more information about this holiday. She is very happy that she spoke to Tiffi and they will all get together with her for the weekend. There seems to be some connection between Memorial Day and the poppy flower. She finds an article and begins to read why they are connected. 

‘Why is The Poppy A Symbol of Memorial Day?

In the war-torn battlefields of Europe, the common red field poppy (Papaver rhoeas) was one of the first plants to reappear. Its seeds scattered in the wind and sat dormant in the ground, only germinating when the ground was disturbed—as it was by the very brutal fighting of World War 1.

John McCrae, a Canadian soldier and physician, witnessed the war first-hand and was inspired to write the now-famous poem “In Flanders Fields” in 1915. (See below for the poem.) He saw the poppies scattered throughout the battlefield surrounding his artillery position in Belgium. 

The Poppy Lady

In November 1918, days before the official end of the war, an American professor named Moina Michael wrote her own poem, “We Shall Keep the Faith,” which was inspired by McCrae’s “In Flanders Fields.” In her poem (also shown below), she mentioned wearing the “poppy red” to honor the dead, and with that, the tradition of adorning one’s clothing with a single red poppy in remembrance of those killed in the Great War was born. Moina herself came to be known—and honored—as “The Poppy Lady.’

Let’s continue to the next part here - The poppy symbol spreads abroad

Start at the beginning – Elsa makes plans for Memorial Day 2020