REMEMBRANCE DAY NOV, 11/09

What meaning, if any, does Remembrance Day hold for today's youth?.

Remembrance Day holds meaning to those who choose to let it. For today's youth who make that choice, it's an opportunity to pay your respects to those who have fought and died to protect our families, our friends and us. Many who died still had lives to live. The very least we can do is take a few hours out of our weekends to pay our respects.

By The Edmonton Journal

Why the poppy?

The association between the poppy and war dates back to the Napoleonic wars, when a writer saw a field of poppies growing over the graves of fallen soldiers.

During the Battle of Ypres in 1915, Canadian Lt.-Col. John McCrae was inspired to write the poem In Flanders Fields on sighting the poppies growing beside a grave of a close friend who had died in battle.

The poem was a great inspiration in adopting the poppy as the Flower of Remembrance in Canada, France, the U.S, Britain and Commonwealth countries.

The first poppies were distributed in Canada in 1921.

Today the volunteer donations from the distribution of millions of poppies is an important source of revenue for the Royal Canadian Legion that goes toward helping ex-servicemen and women buy food, and obtain shelter and medical attention.