Do You Know the Origin of Remembrance Day?

November 11 is celebrated as Remembrance Day in the British Commonwealth of Nations (Commonwealth) countries.

It is a tribute to armed forces members and civilians who sacrificed their lives in the First World War.

However, later, the reason for this commemoration was expanded to pay tribute to the ex-combatants of World War II and, also, of all the armed conflicts in which Canada, one of the Commonwealth countries, has participated.

The characteristic symbol of this anniversary is the Red Poppy, which became an emblem due to the war poem In Flanders Fields, written in 1915 by Medical Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, belonging to the Canadian Expeditionary Corps.

He wrote it after attending the funeral of one of his companions, who died on the battlefield, and makes mention of the poppies that grew among the graves of the fallen.

The poem was published in the British magazine Punch, with great success, to the point that it became well known in various parts of the world.

In 1918, poppies were distributed in New York and, later, the gesture was replicated in France, coinciding with the end of the First World War on November 11 of that same year.